Before the Bloom
Do you ever wonder if a younger version of yourself would believe he or she would mature into who you are today? Over the past several weeks, I’ve driven my kids and Laura crazy asking if they’ve seen the new flower that popped up in the flowerbed or if they had noticed the tree that had started blooming. At some point in one of these conversations, I realized that my 25-year-old self would never believe what my 45-year-old self was saying.
Part of the fascination can be credited to never having a yard as an adult before we moved back to the States. I grew up on a farm and ate vegetables from our garden. All my immediate family had farms and gardens too. So, it could be some latent “farmer-genes” manifesting themselves as I get older. In any case, I’ve become someone who cares more than the average person about my grass, flowerbeds, and trees.
If my 25-year-old self were to ask me, “What’s happened to you? Why do you care?” I think the answer I would give him would be more spiritual than practical.
If you watch flowers during the spring, you spot all the signs of growth. Sprouts will appear out of the ground and mulch. The sprouts will grow into leaves. The leaves will grow and take shape. It’s as if the plant is building your anticipation for the flower. But, then there’s a pause…everything looks healthy…but there’s no bloom. You wait. You look. You wait. Nothing.
Then, one morning when you wake up or one day while you are at work, the stem of the flower appears with the bloom prepared to show off soon. I’ve never seen the stem of a flower appear, no matter how often I observe the plant. The stem seems to always appear suddenly while I am away.
It’s actually the appearance of the bloom, even more than the flower that excites me.
This week, I’ve prayed for a friend and his wife trying to have their first child, multiple friends seeking the Lord’s will about job transitions, friends preparing to make huge life decisions, and others (including my wife) who are fighting health issues like cancer. In each of these cases, the Lord’s will isn’t obvious. In some cases, the Lord’s will even seems to be hidden or withheld. Does God hear us? What is He waiting on? When is He going to answer or do something? How long must we wait?
Maybe we’ve done all we could to prepare the ground. We’ve seen the sprouts and hope arises. The sprouts may have even grown… but still nothing. Maybe the plant has taken its form, everything seems healthy, but it’s just missing the centerpiece.
Whenever I see one of those blooms pop up, like a surprise, when I wasn’t looking, I’m reminded that God was at work under the surface. He was at work within the plant. He was waiting till the most opportune moment when the conditions were just right for that bloom to emerge.
The appearance of the bloom is a reminder that God is at work in each of those circumstances I’m praying for…waiting for…hoping for…longing for His will or His purpose to appear. He’s at work under the surface, where no one sees. He’s at work within the people involved. He’s waiting for the right moment (maybe even while we aren’t looking) to reveal His will and His purpose. Each of those blooms in my flower bed gives evidence of God’s work when I couldn’t see Him.
So, whether you’re a flower person or not, let me encourage you to look around at what’s happening around you this spring. It’s wonderful to see the seasons change, but it might also be a reminder that God is at work even if you don’t see it. He will reveal Himself in His time at just the moment…even if you aren’t looking.
