Love Fiercely

I LOVE SPRING TIME

The grass is greener & the flowers are in full bloom… Not only is the weather amazing, I personally think that it is the most beautiful time of the year!

It is almost as if there are beautiful arrangements of flowers everywhere I look. I noticed a few weeks ago, there were so many trees that had flowers before their leaves came in, & I couldn’t help but wonder – Why do some trees have flowers in the spring & others do not?

As soon as I began to research this information  I realized we are quickly approaching summer. However, I wanted to share how the information I found can apply to our daily life!

The Bible

is filled with lessons that teach us the importance of becoming the best version of ourself, the person God created us to be! The interesting thing is that often the scriptures use imagery related to nature:

plants | trees | & flowers. 

PSALMS 92:12The righteous shall flourish like a palm tree.

MATTHEW 6:28

Why do you worry about clothes? See how the flowers of the field grow. They do not labor or spin…

1 PETER 5:7 

Take a look at the flowers and plants blooming around you. They didn’t worry their way to awesomeness. & you can’t either. God cares about you, so let Him carry your worries & fears.

PROVERBS 11:28

The righteous will thrive like a green leaf.

Not all trees have flowers. Plants can be divided into two sections:

  • Gymnosperms (literally meaning ‘naked seeds’) – these do not produce fruit.
  • Angiosperms (literally meaning ‘covered seeds’) – these do produce fruit.

Spring is a time for growth.

In nature, when the right combination of sunlight & water happen, GROWTH is possible. In the spirit, when we have the right combination of time with God & being in His Word, we are able to GROW!

What is the Purpose of the trees that bloom?

I found out that the reason that trees bloom is so that the flowers can be pollinated, resulting in the tree being able to bear fruit. However, what is interesting is that only a percentage of these blooms on the trees result in fruit. There are some trees that can be self-pollinated, while the rest need to be pollinated from nearby trees. This pollen transfer most often takes place with the help of bees. Without sufficient pollination, the trees will continue to bloom instead of using their resources to produce fruit. This reminds me of how we sometimes need other believers around us to grow, many times we can do it on our own – but then there are times that we cannot do it on our own. We need the help of God & others to produce the fruit that God has for us!

  • If the trees did not have flowers, they would not be able to reproduce.
  • If trees didn’t have flowers there would be no seeds.
  • If there were no seeds, new trees wouldn’t come up each year. 
  • If new trees didn’t come up each year, there wouldn’t be forests.

 

Here is the thing I learned most about blooming trees:

There are seasons in our life, that it doesn’t look like the RIGHT things are growing. But God is doing a work in you… & it is so that you can produce fruit. To you, the flowers may seem pointless in the grand picture of it all. These flowers in the natural don’t even last long. & it is the same with the things that help us grow. In the big picture – God uses the flowers (the unexpected things) | to develop SEEDS | these seeds help to produce FRUIT!

God wants all of us to bloom & have seeds that produce fruit not just in our lives, but EVERYTHING & EVERYONE around us!

ISAIAH 35: 1-4

The desert & the dry ground will be glad. The dry places will be full of joy. Flowers will grow there. Like the first crocus in the spring, the desert will bloom with flowers. It will be very glad and shout for joy. The glorious beauty of Lebanon will be given to it. It will be as beautiful as the rich lands of Carmel and Sharon. Everyone will see the glory of the LordThey will see the beauty of our God. Strengthen the hands of those who are weak. Help those whose knees give way. Say to those whose hearts are afraid, “Be strong & do not fear. Your God will come. He will pay your enemies back. He will come to save you. 

I find that, in my life: 

The things in my life that help me GROW, enable me to bloom. & the more that I bloom, I am able to mature… & eventually change for the better.

  • What does blooming mean for you? Really think about it… Do you want to grow? Are you in a place where you can grow (personally & physically)? 

1 PETER 5:7 

Take a look at the flowers and plants blooming around you. They didn’t worry their way to awesomeness. & you can’t either. God cares about you, so let Him carry your worries & fears. 

GROWTH is NEVER easy. ALL growth is painful. It looks beautiful at times on the outside to others, but internally & sometimes externally it is VERY painful.

NOTHING WORTH HAVING & NOTHING OF VALUE WILL EVER COME EASY. GREATNESS ALWAYS TAKES WORK | SACRIFICE | & YOU WILL HAVE TO LEARN TO PUSH THROUGH PAIN TO OBTAIN THE BEST THAT GOD HAS FOR YOU.

God is with you RIGHT NOW, no matter what season of life you find yourself in… He is nurturing you, watering you, & He is shining His light & love so that you Grow… & so that your life will be a fruitful example of God’s goodness for everyone to see.

  • No matter who you are or what stage of growth & development you’re in, when you stay connected to the things of God & stay close to Him – Your life will become a beautiful & productive picture of God’s beauty in the world. Others will look at you & be challenged to grow their own lives. 🙂 

EPHESIANS 2:10

For we are God’s workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.

The pain of growth at times may be extreme & the sacrifice almost drowning, you may even be experiencing fear that feels paralyzing. God wants you to know that you can have HOPE, & it is this hope that has the power to produce JOY (growth) inside of us – even when things are painful.

ROMANS 5:2-5

Now we have peace with him because of our Lord Jesus Christ. Through faith in Jesus we have received God’s grace. In that grace we stand. We are full of joy because we expect to share in God’s glory. & that’s not all. We are full of joy even when we suffer. We know that our suffering gives us the strength to go on. The strength to go on produces character. Character produces hope. & hope will never bring us shame. That’s because God’s love has been poured into our hearts. This happened through the Holy Spirit, who has been given to us. 

JOHN 15:16

You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you so that you might go and bear fruit—fruit that will last—and so that whatever you ask in my name the Father will give you.

The trees this spring, taught me that if we do not allow ourselves to bloom & be planted – we will never be able to produce FRUIT. God wants us to yield fruit in the right season, & He wants us to prosper – no matter what… I want to be the kind of person that pushes through EVERY season & pain so that I can have seeds that enable growth to happen in myself & others!

PSALMS 1:3

That person is like a tree planted by streams of water, which yeilds it’t fruit in season & whose leaf doesn not wither – Whatever they do prospers.

LOVE FIERCELY

2 12