No trace of trials!

2019

The picture to the left is a current picture of the hydrangea plant that my parents gave to me over thirteen years ago.  I went to visit my parents in Mississippi and right before my return home to Chicago, they dug up some plants and gave them to me to plant in the yard of my new home. Of all the plants that they gave me, the hydrangea was the only one that survived the transplant and it began to thrive. While it produced a bluish purple bloom in Mississippi, once planted in my yard it produced pink blooms. The plant bloomed year after year. Sometimes I would cut a stem or two and bring them inside to be a centerpiece on my coffee table.

2015

The last year that the plant bloomed was in 2015. That's almost three years after my mother passed away.  It made me sad that the plant no longer bloomed and I discussed it with my dad.  He told me to cut it back at the end of the season and see what would happen.  The next year it still didn't bloom. Then he told me not to cut it at all and see what would happen. Still, no blooms the following year. The plant would produce the most luscious green leaves, but would not bloom.

The following year I became frustrated with the plant failing to produce blooms like it was supposed to and I decided I was going to dig it up. To my surprise, the roots of the plant had become so deep and big that it was not an easy task. My neighbor offered to get her brother to help me. I replied no because my parents had given it to me and I wanted to get rid of it myself. I was unsuccessful at digging up the plant and I decided to let it be. I knew it wasn't dead because it continued to produce leaves each year. We were convinced, my father and I, that maybe the cold weather in the Chicago area was keeping it from blooming; although, many people in the area have hydrangeas in their yard.

This season the leaves turned green as usual and I really wasn't expecting it to bloom again. We had just experienced a historically cold winter with temperatures feeling like -50 degrees. I didn't think this was a year to get my expectations up. To my surprise one day either coming or going I saw I small patch that appeared to be the beginning formation of a bloom. I got really excited and couldn't wait to tell my dad. As time has passed the pending bloom has gotten bigger and about three additional blooms are beginning to form. I told my sisters about it and almost wanted to cry tears of joy.

My sisters are the only people that I know that wake up early like me and I'm comfortable texting at the crack of dawn. Last Saturday during our early morning texts at about 6:30am, I asked my sister Lervern to come over and help me move around some flowers in the yard and put down some mulch. She came right over. Lervern used to work at a plant nursery and she likes to share her expertise. As she was helping in the yard, she looked over at the hydrangea and said, "when we get finished we are going to cut out those dead branches on the hydrangea". I said, "no we are not". I explained that it is starting to bloom and I don't want to disturb it. She said, "trust me, it's going to look better". Once we finished laying the mulch and bricks in one area, we moved on to the hydrangea. She carefully went in between the leaves and cut out the old dead branches. One by one. I would hold back the green leaves for her to make sure they were not harmed in the process.  I snatched a few dead ones out myself. I don't have the same delicate touch that she has. The plant looked so much better.

As I was reflecting on the hydrangea the next morning it made me think about my life and how I have had expectations of when I should "bloom" or see "fruit" in certain areas of my life. I have had seasons that did not appear to be productive. I have had thoughts that I am not where I am supposed to be in life for my age or compared to others, but during those seasons I was still developing (green leaves). My roots were growing stronger and deeper, giving me a solid foundation. It also reminded me of one day when I  was riding the train to work reflecting on where I felt I should be in life. The following words came to me: You have to be planted to bloom. Then I got an image of a plant without roots when it is placed in a jar of water.  How it first begins to sprout roots to get what it needs to survive while adjusting to the new environment. Once the roots get strong enough, the plant is ready to be planted in soil.  If a plant is planted in soil without roots, it will surely die. What really knocked me off my feet was shortly after that, my supervisor gave me a key chain for my birthday that said bloom where you are planted. To me, it was confirmation of not only the thought that came to me on the train, but that I was in the right place in life. I was being planted and developed. My foundation was being strengthened.  Then here comes the expert with the precise hand, to root out the dead parts that are no longer serving me. They were part of the process and show the struggles that I went through, but they are blocking the beauty of what is blooming.

All of these thoughts early on a Sunday morning about this plant, but God always confirms when he is speaking to me. During church service that very morning my pastor made the statement that while under the tutoring of the holy spirit that "there will eventually not be a trace of the trials that you have gone through".  All of the thoughts from the morning regarding my life and the hydrangea came rushing back to me. It was confirmed that like the hydrangea I have been going through a planting, strengthening, pruning and now a beautification process. I am looking forward to seeing what the blooms are going to look like.

Parents' hydrangea 

After you have suffered a little while, the God of all grace [who imparts His blessing and favor], who called you to His own eternal glory in Christ, will Himself complete, confirm, strengthen, and establish you [making you what you out to be] 1 Peter 5:10 AMP