Dear Friend,
To celebrate my birthday a bit early this year, my sweetheart and I left the littles with my parents last night and drove 30 minutes to “our temple.” (I actually have 3 temples I call “our temple,” but that’s the subject for a different day.)
When we walked inside the gates, my eyes instantly darted to the flowers (because I always notice flowers first thing). To my surprise, they were blooming in so many pastel, vibrant colors! All the hyacinths and crocuses and most of the tulips! My little flowers (in my north-facing, covered porch garden) on the other hand, are just a few inches high with no buds yet in sight. It’s funny how much of a difference 30 minutes south can make, I thought.
I guess my little garden is just filled with “late-bloomers.” But I won’t condemn my flowers because they aren’t yet blossoming, and I don’t think Heavenly Father would want us to condemn ourselves either. Because we’re all late-bloomers in one way or another, wouldn’t you agree?
Since 2008, I have followed along the journey of a woman I admire very much, Stephanie Nielsen. She is a plane-crash and burn-survivor and very much a heroine of mine. I just finished reading her memoir and it left me a sobbing, tearful mess for a few days.
Her story was inspiring not just because of her victory over seemingly insurmountable challenges, but because even before the accident she was a wonderful, faithful mother. And I want to be like her.
The journey of motherhood hasn’t necessarily been easy for me and I feel like I’m just barely starting to bloom into the mother God wants me to be, but I have hope that the Master Gardener has a plan for me.
Have you ever felt like a late-bloomer in some way? I’d love to hear about it! From one late-bloomer to another, can I just tell you, that the timing of the blossoms in no way affects their beauty. All flowers open up into glorious miracles no matter how long they take to bloom. Will you believe this about yourself as well?
And whether we’re late-bloomers or early-blossoms, let’s rejoice in the fact that we’re all beautiful flowers in the garden of a loving God. And THAT is something to celebrate!!
I have much more to say about last night, but I’ll save it for later! Talk to you soon!
-Jamie
