A Flower Metaphor...Really?

Ahhh, the summer heat has finally arrived in my neck of the woods...I'm not thrilled. I live in a desert. I have fair skin. Surely now you can see the reason for my lack of enthusiasm. But I can't deny the great feeling of the backyard BBQ, the smell of charcoal grills and roasting meat wafting through the air, mixing sweetly with the scent of ripe watermelons and heady alfalfa grasses. Country life has its charms, even for this suburb kind of gal.

Which brings me to my point - we may have our own desires and are made to thrive more readily in certain environments, but we can bloom anywhere.

I grew up in a city famous for its rainy, cloudy days. I loved the overcast sky like I loved my cozy blanket. There is still nothing more comforting to me than the sound of rain beating heavily on my roof while I sip hot chocolate on the couch. But when GOD calls, HE also stretches. I was called to minister in the desert. Now I could have called GOD crazy and refused, citing my fair skin and red hair as perfect reasons not to go, but I would have missed so much! GOD has lifted me from the background support I have always been to my husband, to a partner in the ministry. HE has increased the gifts and talents that, honestly, I had forsaken while in the beautiful mountains, to the point that HE nearly took those talents away. I have increased in my friendships, gained new teachers, acquired new students, and stepped up in my faith. HE could have done this in the mountains. GOD is big enough that HE can do whatever HE wants anywhere. But for me, it took the desert. I am stubborn and I guess HE wanted to get my attention.

I am blooming. I didn't think I'd ever be where I am now. I never even tried to be. Guess that's why I was called to the desert. It takes a shift of focus, a shaking, to move us from one safe, sturdy, comfortable pot to the spacious garden outside. But we can bloom anywhere HE chooses to plant us - even if we are thirsty flowers in the desert - we will learn to trust HIM for the rain on a deeper level than possible to learn had we stayed in the rainforest. Trusting HIM to do the impossible every time HE meets our needs. Yep, I am blooming. Are you?