Encouragement

Bloom Where You Are Planted

by Maria Franco
07/01/24
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This morning I was admiring a Cherry Blossom tree in full bloom in the compound of my Church which prompted me to remark to the Parish Priest that God is well pleased with our Parish this year as the tree was in full bloom as compared to previous years.

Flowers are one of the most attractive creation of God. Jesus drew a comparison between flowers and clothes as we read in Matthew 6:28, "Why do you worry about clothes? See how the flowers of the field grow. They do not labour or spin.  Yet I tell you that not even Solomon in all his splendour was dressed like one of these.  If that is how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today and tomorrow is thrown into the fire, will he not much more clothe you—you of little faith?
Imagine King Solomon who wore the finest, royal purple robes could not compete with the eye treating and mind pleasing beauty of flowers.  Because thread and yarn woven by men cannot outdo what God has created in splendour and in his vast wisdom.

We must have all heard this quote that we should bloom where we are planted.
It might not be a place of our choice or will but wherever God has chosen to station us, we should trust in him to provide for us and use our abilities to the best for the welfare of both ourselves and others.
Missionaries, religious, priests, lay people and social workers venture into the deep forests and tribal areas to serve those living in poverty. Where they are posted they do their utmost best to reap a good harvest for the Lord. They have full faith that the Lord will provide for them. They do not worry or fear about tomorrow.

Jesus remarked in Matthew 6:25, “Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothes?  Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they?  Can any one of you by worrying add a single hour to your life?"
And again in Matthew 6:28, “So do not worry, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’  For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them.  But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own." The reason Jesus told his disciples not to worry about tomorrow was because our God is a benevolent provider.

We all know how Abraham was told by God to leave his land in Haran and journey to an unknown land. He was in the dark but obeyed God in full faith and reached the land flowing with milk and honey.
Moses too after resisting agreed to lead the people of God out from the land of slavery towards the Promised Land in Israel.
God had prepared in advance the land for them. We read in  Joshua 24:13-15, "I have given you a land for which you did not labour, and cities which you did not build, and you dwell in them; you eat of the vineyards and olive groves which you did not plant".

Flowers do wither and fall to the ground. Isaiah 40:6-8 states, “All flesh is grass, And all its loveliness is like the flower of the field.
The grass withers, the flower fades, Because the breath of the Lord blows upon it; Surely the people are grass. The grass withers, the flower fades, But the word of our God stands forever. "
Truly the Word of God can never fade in the face of fading flowers however beautiful it might have been and so it is with life too.
In Psalms 103:14,"The life of mortals is like grass, they flourish like a flower of the field; the wind blows over it and it is gone and its place remembers it no more."

This is symbolic of our mortal life. As long as we are in this world, we should bloom for a time will come when the body will wither and like the grass we too will fade away.
But rest assured that after crossing over, we will behold the grandest garden in heaven with the choicest of flowers and God himself to provide for our souls in a beautiful life of eternity with him.

So let us resolve that wherever we are whether in a place of our liking or not, to learn to love the place, explore its vast possibilities and ensure that the seeds of the kingdom of God are planted there, seeds that will bloom into beautiful works for Christ.
The Gospel must reach to every end of the earth and in our own little area or space we can bring forth flowers that will neither fade not wither. As long as God is our provider we have no need to be anxious about the next day as he has already taken care of it for us. We should keep blooming as God keeps providing with the richness of his graces for us to blossom forever.

Maria Franco