Lessons from my plant...

Just wanted to share some thoughts - it's been too long since I posted on here!!!

Last year about this time, my friend, Sara, gave me a Shamrock plant!

Some of the back story on why these plants are so special to her:

These were the last things that I took from my gma's house when we were in NC for her funeral (thinking that we would return to her house to sort through her things).  We never went back.  So, I have taken great comfort in looking at these plants and being reminded of my wonderful, God-fearing Mimi.

I didn't look into the "magic" or "mystery" of these plants until a year after her death.  If these plants face harsh conditions, they will wilt back and die on the surface and take refuge in the bulb, until the conditions change on the surface again.  (I guess that is what makes these plants so hardy).

It was significant to me, because that is what my Mimi's house was to us!  It was a place of refuge.  We did not have a "home" in the U.S.A. and her home was our home when we would return from PNG on furlough.  She provided nourishment, rest and shelter from the mission field for us.  

She also reminded us to take refuge in the arms of our Heavenly Father--when we were worn, tired, defeated, discouraged.  I will never forget her place of refuge--her kitchen table--her Bible and devotional never left that spot...even when we arrived for her funeral--it was still there.

She taught me, the importance of consistency and dedication to communing with God by setting an example of just that!  

And the cool part of these plants as well is that the reach for the sun--they respond to the sun--and each new morning, they open back up to the sun.  I want to do the same--reaching for God, with each new sunrise.  I am nothing without Him!!!

These are her plants:

Beautiful and bursting with life and color!!!

So... back to the one I have...

Here is the GOOD news - I have NOT killed it...but the bad news is that I neglected to care for it as I should have this past year.

Until last night that is! :)

I see this Shamrock every morning - or rather its flowers opening to the sun as I open the curtains to my kitchen window.

A few weeks ago I had the thought to actually look at the soil and I was not pleased with what I saw.
I had neglected this plant.
Yes - I was watering it, but it wasn't staying as moist as it needed to.
Yes - it was still blooming each morning, but there was no new growth because I had kept it in its same, small container it had come in.

I hadn't taken the time to really "look" at it - only what I saw at my eye level...only what was on the surface.

Yet - each morning as I open my curtains - there it sits - opening up, reaching towards the sun.
And last night as I went to close those curtains and noticed it closing up - it truly caught my attention; day in and day out, for a year, this plant has persevered!  So I asked my hubby to help me make it healthy again - so he found some planting soil and a bigger, beautiful yellow planter for us to re home this shamrock.

I know it's hard to see but in the top middle - there is a small sprout bursting through the soil!  I didn't even see that when it was all jammed packed in the unhealthy soil.

And then this morning - just look at it!!!

Opening up to the sunshine just as happy as can be!

And then my wheels got spinning...thinking of Sara's comments and my own thoughts on just how much I wasn't doing for my little plant, here are some thoughts to share:

Sometimes we struggle to reach the light. At the end of the day, much like these shamrocks, we close up.  

Sometimes, I'll simply say, "I'm just done."   Have you ever had that kind of day or maybe even days?  You just want to close up and shut it all out and just be?!

Maybe you've found yourself recently planted and the dirt is still covering you, and you're slowly being fed and watered but you just haven't burst through the soil yet - you're still struggling to reach the light.  Guess what?!?  The light hasn't left you - every day - it's shining to help you grow!  Your time IS coming!!!

Or...Maybe like my poor shamrock, you've been planted for some time and it's your environments, those surrounding you - that is adding to your struggle to reach the light.  Can I encourage you to check your surroundings?  Are the people in your circle good for your growth?  Do you need to find some better soil and a new planter to allow yourself the healthy environment you need to open up?

It's up to us what we're going to do with the morning light!!!  I want to encourage you to be like these shamrocks!!!  Wake up and open your arms to a new day and welcome the light - reach for the sun!

Some of our most beautiful moments may come as a result of some of our most difficult struggles.

Let my shamrock be a reminder for you - beautiful flowers still grow out of ugly dirt!!

Sometimes, we find ourselves in seasons where we are having more asked of us than we ever expected...and we just need to remember to take it one day at a time, allowing our body and mind to rest when we need to.

As Sara mentioned, when these plants face harsh conditions, they will wilt back and die on the surface yet take refuge in the bulb.  Once the conditions change on the surface again - you see them come back to life!

So whether they close for the night and take time to rest - or completely wilt back and die...under the surface they are taking refuge in the bulb.

Friends!!!

I want to remind you today that while we don't have a "bulb" to take refuge in - we have each other, but most importantly, we have God. 

The struggle is real, y'all BUT so is God!

Find your refuge in Him during the difficult times and watch the beautiful moments unfold!

There really is more than what you see on the surface!

Let's be honest - I use my dishwasher 99% of the time so I'm not standing at my kitchen sink a whole lot.  What I "see" daily is the burst of the flower opening up and reaching out for the sun.

What I was neglecting to see was that clumpy, old dirt I had allowed it to stay in for too long.

BUT underneath that "surface" - the bulb, the roots to this plant were holding on strong.

We're going to interact with so many people day in and day out who we are only going to get a glimpse into their surface level...and I want to encourage you to think about what kind of bulb/root system they have to take refuge in.  

Let's not make assumptions that just because they look "well" that all is well.  

Let's work on taking time to really look at others.

Learn what makes them bloom.

Or what's preventing them for fully reaching for the sun!

And let's provide a healthy environment for them to strengthen their root system!

Friends, we are so much better together!

xox,

Jenny