Flowers and Seasons

Now that we are home on lock down due to Covid 19, I’ve been watching these flowers in my Mum’s garden- day in day out. These flowers bud, bloom, grow and eventually wither and die .Bud, bloom, grow, die. The process repeats itself over and over .It’s like clockwork. Interestingly ,the flower instinctively knows what it should be doing and at what time .It’s as if it understands its God given DNA and the elements required for it to flourish and how to behave when these elements are met or not.

This rose knows it’s destined to be a beautiful orange flower, and that is exactly what it’s aiming toward. It seems to have some innate wisdom that once it reaches full bloom, it’s petals wither, fall and it dies .It knows this fully well and doesn’t seem to be perturbed that another young’ un will take its glory shortly after its gone.
I noted that when we prune the roses, the process seems to jumpstart all over again and the budding happens sooner – they become more fruitful.

This made me reflect on human life, we too go through various seasons; sadly not all of us know what we should be aiming toward. We seem to be thrown off balance and are left reeling after going through difficult seasons. We forget that seasons come and go and that they are meant to leave us changed, transformed, closer to who we are becoming. Closer to who we were created to be – closer, to our destiny.

In this life process, we too are pruned by God. It may seem unpleasant and painful and some of us think it is some form of punishment, but really he is cleaning us up so that we become even more fruitful. Jesus says in John 15: 1-7;-
“I am the true vine, and my Father is the gardener. He cuts off every branch in me that bears no fruit, while every branch that does bear fruit he prunes, so that it will be more fruitful. You are already clean because of the word I have spoken to you. Remain in me and I will remain in you. No branch can bear fruit by itself; it must remain in the vine. Neither can you bear fruit unless you remain in me.
I am the vine, you are the branches. If a man remains in me and I in him, he will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing. If anyone does not remain in me, he is like a branch that is thrown away and withers; such branches are picked up, thrown into the fire and burned. If you remain in me and my words remain in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be given you.”

One has to yield to be guided by the Lord, to trust in him and remain in him and believe in his word. Trust him as you go through the seasons, even as he prunes you to become more fruitful .He is slowly transforming you to be who you are meant to be. Without him, we are lost and left reeling by the effects of the seasons and will hardly bear any fruit and eventually we would dry up and be burned in the fire. He promises us, that if we trust in him and believe in his word, we will give us whatever we ask.
Trust him through your ups and downs do not be afraid of the challenges that come along, like the rose flower  ,anticipate the changing of seasons and rely on God to transform you to who he created you to become.