It's Time to Bloom

My three year old bounds onto my bed, yelling loudly, “Mom! Can I cuddle you??” an inch from my face. I smile and nod.

She slips under the covers and looks up at me, “I love you, Mom. You’re my best friend.”

My heart melts right into the floor, every worry flying away as I look at the pure love of my child who finds comfort in my presence.

It’s a dream I hadn’t even known to dream: to be a resting place and refuge for my family. I didn’t know that God could grow me in all of the ways He has, softening my heart into a landing place for others. And yet, here I am—a tree whose branches my family and friends dwell in—a tiny reflection of God’s presence, a place of home.

As I read today’s readings, I think of the times in my life I’ve felt like a withered tree, a tree who’s been insulted, abandoned, misunderstood—not by the Lord, of course—but by others. I know what it is to feel shriveled up inside and as though there isn’t much to offer, let alone be a place of refuge.

But the more I think about it, the more I realize that is just the Evil One’s intentions: for us to feel withered, shriveled, unnoticed, and alone. He doesn’t want us to know the reality of the Kingdom of Heaven right here; he wants us to think we are not enough, we aren’t doing enough, we aren’t holy enough, we aren’t inspired enough, we aren’t ______ enough.

But God says even the smallest of seeds, when sown in the ground (of faith), springs up and becomes the largest of plants so that others will find refuge inside.

Even you, my friend, you will spring up and be a reflection of the Kingdom of Heaven, right here on earth. You will be a place of refuge. And no one can take away the mighty tree you will become.

Let God sow seeds of life in your heart. Let His Word take root . . . for it’s time to bloom.

It’s time to bloom. // @jennaguizarClick to tweet

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