Blooming season

Spring has sprung and it is gorgeous.

We've been in our current neighborhood for seven years.  There are two trees down the street that bloomed with gorgeous white flowering blooms the year we moved in.

Since then, when I go for a walk around the neighborhood, I have looked for the same trees to bloom every spring.

They haven't.  Until this year.

And they are as beautiful as the first time I saw them bloom seven years ago.

But I waited seven years to see them bloom again!  The other similar trees bloom faithfully every spring.  But for some reason, these two side-by-side trees only bloom every seven years.

It got me thinking.  There are dormant stages in our spiritual life, too.  We don't always see the "bloom" in our own lives.  We give our all, obey the Lord best we can, wait on Him, step out in faith, and still no "flowers."

What is happening during those dormant years?  I have no idea, really.  But I do know that God makes every tree for a purpose and for its season.  And I know that we are worth much more to God than any tree.

Can we accept the fact that there will be times when the "flowering" results we were expecting do not happen when we like?  

All I know is that I totally appreciate those beautiful, flowering trees in all their glory all the more precisely because they do not bloom every year.  The expectancy met by fruition was more satisfying because it was unexpected!  

So are you flowering these days?  Are you letting the cares of this world, and/or your personal cares, rob you of any present joy?  

We cannot force spiritual fruit at our whim, how or when it ripens.  Trees bloom when God says so!  And for some reason, not all bloom every year.  

But when we are patient with God and ourselves, He brings about those flowering seasons, those fruitful moments, as only He can.  

Our job is not to strive, but to abide.  And it is more like a resting position than work.  But how many of us can release full control to God?  That is what, I believe, abiding in God involves:  our constant choice to let go and trust Him with the flowering, the fruit, the provision, the everything that He wills in and through and for us.  

Can you imagine a tree getting upset because it doesn't flower every year?  Ridiculous, I know.  But how ridiculous are we when we fret or worry because we don't see the flowers or fruit that we were expecting in our own lives, or in others' lives?

A farmer plants and sows his seed.  But he would be the first one to tell you that he trusts the Lord to yield the harvest.  Why?  Because God is the Weatherman!  The sun, the rain, the soil, the climate - all of these are under God's full control as part of His Sovereignty. While the "common sense" of the world will shift blame on the weather to politicians (as if they control weather!), "global warming" and such, as Christians, we know that our God is in total control over it all.  

As we see more and more "extreme weather" happening around the world - more floods, tornados, "super storms" and such - let us remember that our God is in absolute authority over it all.  My mom used to say about unexpected weather events, "God's talking."  Indeed.  That is one way that our Lord speaks to us, through nature.  That is because He cannot get our attention any other way usually!

So when, how, and where we bloom is ultimately up to God.  We abide in Him and He does His deep work in our hearts.  

All of the other outer blooms - accomplished goals and such - should simply be manifestations of His life in us.  

When our hearts are purified by Him, made more fully formed by Him, the blooms will flower more beautifully than ever.  Even if it may happen "only" every seven years, God knows exactly what He is doing.

Dear Lord.  The beauty of spring and how and when the flowers and trees bloom are a lovely reminder of Your Sovereignty and provision.  Thank You for the beauty around us, O Lord.  Thank You for knowing exactly when we are supposed to bloom for Your glory.  Help us to truly abide in You throughout the day, Lord, so that You can provide Your fruit and flowers in and through us, as a sweet aroma of Christ.  In Jesus' Name.  Amen.