How To Beautifully Bloom, Right Where You Are

It’s an exciting time in the life of my flower gardens. They are coming to life. Everything is green, finally (yay!), and a number of my plants are on the verge of blooming. Irises, lilies, bleeding hearts, and daisies. The tulips and daffodils ushered in the season and bloomed last month. More flowers will bloom next month and into late summer. As I examined my garden this morning, this got me thinking.

We can learn lessons from flowers how to beautifully bloom, right where we are.

Blooming Where We’re Planted was the title and subject one of our BYOB and B events a couple years ago. It resonated with many, so much so, I’ve been asked to speak on this subject a number of times since. The reason why, I believe, is because God planted within each one of us a desire to bloom. To bloom for our growth, for the good of others, and for His glory. We each want to bloom.

bloom :: to produce or yield blossoms; to flourish or thrive (dictionary.com)

I think of it this way…

You, me, all of us are planted in a flower garden, God’s garden, and He’s the Master Gardener. He knows His plants. After all, He created each one of us. He plants us exactly where He wants us and where He knows we’ll grow the best.

Some of us thrive better in the sunshine all day long, like irises or lilies. Some of us do well planted in partial-sun, like salvia or peonies. Yet, some of us are better in the shade, like impatients and begonias. We might be placed in the front of the garden, or in the middle, or in the back. Again, God knows where we’ll thrive–and bloom–the best, so He places us strategically.

Our Master Gardener not only plants us, but He cares for us. He waters, fertilizes, and keeps the weeds at bay around us. He prunes us back when needed and replants us if we’d bloom better elsewhere. Ever been pruned or replanted? It’s painful, sometimes, isn’t it? You know, I just replanted the fern I purchased two summers ago. Having overgrown its pot, its leaves were beginning to die. I knew if it didn’t re-pot it soon, it wouldn’t live much longer. After replanting it in bigger pot, though, it has already almost doubled in size! Even though I lost some leaves in the process, it now loves its new home! Sometimes pruning takes place so we can bloom even more.

Flowers remind us just how unique and special we all are.

Just like flowers, we are different shapes, heights, sizes, and colors. God created such variety in flowers and variety in us. The thing is, though, I don’t think we appreciate enough how unique each one of us is. Or how special our neighbors or coworkers or family members are. Especially if they have different perspectives on things, or belong to a different political party than you or I do, or believe something contrary to what we believe. Certainly, we can appreciate the variety in others, just as we appreciate the variety in flowers.

Also like flowers, we may bloom at different times in life… early-spring, late-spring, summer, and late-summer to early fall. And, that’s okay. Wouldn’t it be boring if each flower bloomed at the exact same time? Those who bloom early, can encourage those who haven’t bloomed yet. And, those of us who are waiting to bloom can anticipate our time is coming!

One thing is for sure… you and I are designed and created to bloom.

What a beautiful garden we are a part of! The thing is, though, if one of us decides not to bloom or believes our blooms just aren’t as important or beautiful as others, the entire garden suffers. It won’t be as beautiful as it could be. But, when you and I bloom in the ways we can, the garden is breathtaking. As we bloom, we encourage others to bloom, too!

And, just like flowers, there’s no need for us to compete with one another or compare ourselves to each other. Imagine if flowers did that?? What if a lily compared itself to an aster? Or if a marigold compared itself to a zinnia? No, they don’t do that. They just bloom. Beautifully, amazingly, vibrantly, right where they are.

We can do the same.

To bloom right where we are.

To summarize, how do we beautifully bloom?

• Understand God plants us where He knows we will thrive and bloom best.
• Allow God to care for us in order to keep blooming, even if it means pruning or replanting.
• Appreciate how special and unique we all are.
• Be okay with blooming at different times than others.
• Encourage others in their own blooming.
• Don’t compare ourselves to or compete with others.
• Just bloom, beautifully, amazingly, vibrantly, right where we are.

What’s one step you can take to beautifully bloom today, right where you are? Then, how can you encourage another to do the same?

If you follow me on Instagram or Facebook, you’ll likely see the blooms from my garden when they appear. May they remind us to continue blooming through this season and beyond!

Keep blooming, friend. This garden needs you!

Much love,