Most people who know me are very aware that I am the Freddy Kreuger plant murderer. Seriously! Plants hate me, and my plants always die without Denny’s intervention.
But something interesting happened recently. I received an amaryllis bulb while attending a women’s retreat. I heard an especially impactful message at this retreat—one that gave me a deeper glimpse into God’s love for me. I saw His hand through different seasons of my life, and to be honest, some of those seasons were pretty ugly.
But God was working even in those ugly seasons, creating something of beauty. And that little amaryllis bulb taught me that sometimes beauty is born through the winter seasons of our lives.
I didn’t hold out a lot of hope that this plant would survive, given my track record. But I so wanted it to. As silly as it may seem, that little plant signified something to me. It reminded me that God had been doing a lot of new things in my life over the last decade. And He promised it would be beautiful.
I carefully planted the bulb, watered it, and turned it in the window so it could receive some indirect sunlight. It was slow, and I waited patiently for growth, without seeing any for several weeks. It reminded me of my own growth as a Christian, as I have often touted the title of “the slowest growing Christian ever.” But God’s timing is always perfect. Just as growth had occurred in my own life ever so slowly, my little amaryllis also began to grow. It took over a month for the first bloom, but soon after, it was bursting with beautiful blooms!
I love the way God’s creation points us to His goodness. I see Him in the way trees go through seasons of life much like we do, shedding leaves that need to go, so that new growth can occur. I’ve had to shed a lot of ugly leaves in my life. But God has brought new leaves of beauty. And that is what I love about this amaryllis! It has the courage to bloom in the winter! What a visual reminder of God’s work in the winter seasons our lives!
It takes great courage to bloom in the darkness of winter, when we can’t see the light. It involves trusting God and believing that He is good even in our sorrows and that He brings good from them. And in His perfect timing, He brings those blooms of growth.
What beauty does God want to display through the amaryllis blooms of your own soul’s winters? Will you be patient with His timetable? And will you consider sharing your blooms with others?
“Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our troubles, so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves receive from God,” (2 Corinthians 1:3,4).
Have a Happy New Year with lots of new growth!
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