"Bloom Where You Are Planted"

Planting bulbs is something I do only because I like the end result. It doesn’t take long before the fruits of my efforts spring up through the dirt and I can see success.  Isn’t it just like us to go for the quick and easy?  I’m not sure I’d bother, if I had to wait 3 months, 6 months, a year, etc before my bulbs popped up through the ground.  I am so glad that our Father is not as impatient with us.  God is not about “instant”.  Not that He never responds instantly.  Surely He does.  But, God is in it for the long haul with us.  He is more interested in eternal fruit, than our daily comfort.

In reading the box on one of my bulbs, I read that it requires them to go through cold temperatures before they will begin to grow for the season.  They recommended that I put them in the refrigerator for X days before planting them.  Left to me, I never would have figured that out. I would have just put them in the ground and hoped for the best.  They may have grown eventually, but would they have been as colorful and radiant?  Would they have created as many blooms or fruit, as if I had followed the manufacturer’s instructions?  Is it not true for me also?  If I am obedient to my “manufacturer” and follow His direction, can I expect that my life will be greatly enriched, more colorful and radiant, or that I would reproduce more fruit?  Whether I am talking about a major, life-changing decision, or simply an attitude I take and everything in between, the choice is mine on a daily basis.  Who am I listening to and obeying?  Do I take the time to read the manufacturer of my life’s instructions?  Do I heed His direction in all I do?  Do I yield to cold spells of my life and embrace them, because I know that God has purpose in it, even if I don’t understand it?  I thank God for His patience with me, as I continue to learn these abundant life lessons.

John 10:10
The thief cometh not, but for to steal, and to kill, and to destroy: I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly.