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Previous Challenge Entry (Level 1 – Beginner)
Topic: WAIT (08/30/18)
Caroline glanced at the Passion fruit vine; it climbed with purpose up the trellis. Using the camera on her mobile phone, she zoomed in on the white and purple flower and captured its intricate design. She understood why the Spanish Missionaries called it the ’flower of the five wounds’ and related it to Christ’s passion and the Cross.



If you lose your life for my sake, you will find it…



Caroline’s phone trilled and jarred her out of her musing. She noted the caller-ID, “Hi Jenny - Welcome home! No, not very busy… just marveling over God’s creation… the Passion flower… haha… yes, I have found my passion… pop round for tea… looking forward to seeing you after all these months.”



Caroline pocketed her phone and picked up the next seed for planting. She pushed it into the ground, pressed the soil down and sprinkled some nutrient enriched water onto it.



“Don’t worry little seed… I know how you feel - stuck in the mud; unable to move; unable to see light. Suffocated. Thinking, ‘this is it’. But don’t give up! Don’t think that it’s your fate to rot away in this dank new home… you have been destined for a great purpose. Just wait and see!”



Caroline chuckled, “The neighbors already think I’m cuckoo. I’m taking it to a whole new level… talking to seeds!”



Shaking her head, she smiled: she had come a long way from when she first found herself 'planted in this season'. Three years ago, she would not have referred to her situation in fond terms. Back then she would have been angry and despondent at being stuck in her circumstances with no sense of freedom. How many years before her mother would die? She had resented the burden of looking after her mother: waiting on her hand and foot!



Just as God has plans for that tiny seed to grow up, to blossom and reveal His Glory; so He has similar plans for me.



Jenny arrived at the gate, apple-pie in hand, “You are looking chipper.”



“Just talking to my seeds - which at this stage have no clue what they have been destined to become and don’t know the direction in which to grow.”



Jenny laughed, “Sounds a bit like you - dabbling around in the dark; no direction; no passion: confused.”



“As I said on the phone… things have changed.”



Jenny followed Caroline into the house, “Ooh, spill the beans.”



“As you know, I was waiting for this season to change before I felt ‘I could start my life’… but it is within this season that I have discovered my purpose.”



Jenny frowned, “In one of your emails you did mention you had uncovered your passion but for some reason you were frustrated…”



Caroline grimaced, “After I discovered what I wanted to do, I became exasperated that I could never follow through. Caring for Mom consumed my time and sapped my energy. I became grumpy at wasting my life being no more than an unappreciated maid-in-waiting.”



“So, what’s changed?”



Caroline sparkled, “Me!”



Jenny raised her eyebrows.



“One day, I reached up to get a coat out of a top cupboard, when a book fell down and literally smacked me between me the eyes.” Caroline giggled, “Brother Lawrence hit home his message about ‘Practicing the presence of God’."



“And did you?”



“Yip! Each boring task I reminded myself I was doing it for the Lord.”



Caroline twirled on the spot, “One book led to another, and three years later, with moments of time snatched to focus on personal growth... well, this is the new me.”



Jenny nodded, “You appear to be much happier… more at peace….”

Caroline beamed,” It’s taken its time. Initially, I was stuck in the mud: like the seed of this passion flower, but then watered and fed with biblical nutrients, I began to establish my spiritual roots. Once I was spiritually grounded, I became a better person. I focused on other areas, including self-awareness…. which led me to discover my purpose. “



“So, do you need things to change… you know… with your mom?”



Caroline bit her lip, “I never want my mother to die… she has such a beautiful essence. She has become my best friend!”



Jenny smiled, “I can see the love you have for her… you have blossomed.”



Caroline glowed, “Every day, I do something that takes me closer to my goal. I find that despite my circumstances remaining the same, I am fulfilled.”



Scripture

Romans 8:28
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This article has been read 550 times
Member Comments
Member
Date
C D Swanson 
09/06/18
So well done! I loved this piece and all of the truths and the great message it delivered.

Blessings~
Claudia Barrington
09/07/18
Hello precious child of God! I am so encouraged by your article, and surely many others besides myself will also be able to apply to our own lives the lesson God taught you. Joy filled my heart as I read it. God always knows what is best, doesn't He? Thank you so much.
Elaine Hemingway
09/07/18
What a beautiful lesson. It really resonated with me and you said it all so well. Seeds of truth to germinate in our lives. Thank you.
Linda Lawrence
09/10/18
Just want to say I really enjoyed this piece. The dialogue was believable. Well-done.
Nancy Bucca
09/10/18
Ooh, this is wonderful, a beautiful word picture and so well written on what can happen inside our hearts while we wait!
Gloria Pierre Dean
09/11/18
An excellent look at the caring process. As a fellow flower gardener, I totlally enjoyed this. Keep blossoming!
C D Swanson 
09/13/18
Congrats!
Blessings~