Wildflowers

Throughout the spring and into the summer I’ve had wildflowers on my mind, and I wasn’t sure why. In May it was lilacs, my favorite flower, then it was picking daises. Later it was lilies, and Tiger Lilies, and Black Eyed Susans. 

I bought a new camera lens in early July and many of the pictures I took while testing it were of wildflowers, including the ones here. I was receiving such vivid imagery I even wrote a song about wildflowers called obviously Picking Wildflowers. It’s an Irish, folksy kind of thing.

I’d ask the Lord why He was showing me all the wildflower visions and references, and He wasn’t really explaining it. I was going to eventually write a blog about all this anyway since the imagery has been constant for 4 months, but I wasn’t sure what conclusion or meaning to attach to the wildflowers, and I wanted to wait for the song to be completed.
 
But then Friday August 12, 2016 dawned hot and muggy. It was the second day of the Global Leadership Summit (GLS), and things started to finally make sense. I think it was T.D. Jakes that said, “Go bloom where you are planted” (If you were at the GLS and I have my reference wrong please correct me) BAM! Connection to the wildflowers. 

In my best Ron Popeil voice “But wait, There’s more!” On Saturday night I decided to do something I rarely do and watch a movie. I watched Facing the Giants (Sherwood Pictures 2006). At 38:48 in the movie Mr. Bridges comes in to see Grant Taylor, and at 39:29 he says “you are to bloom right where you are planted.” BAM! I almost fell out of my chair! Someone made a YouTube clip of the scene.Bloom where you are planted Then later in the movie there is a scene (approx. 1 hr 7 mins in) in the flower shop where Grant Taylor buys wildflowers for His wife. BAM! Two more confirmations on the wildflower theme. But wait, there’s more! Then on Sunday morning Pastor Pat also repeated “Go bloom where you are planted” during his sermon. SHAZAM! Granted we were at the same conference, but 4 wildflower references in 3 days was major confirmation that I should explore this topic sooner rather than later. If you have read my blog more than once you’ll see it is common that I need multiple confirmations, I can be hard-headed, and I am not even German!


So wildflowers, they usher in spring, clothe the summer, and compliment autumn. When hiking I like to find a nice meadow and just contemplate my crazy life. However, why had wildflowers been on my mind throughout much of 2016, it had to be more than they are pretty
.

Biblically speaking the first passage that came to mind was Mathew 6:25-34 (HCSB) since it contained the word wildflowers. 


Do Not Worry 


25 “This is why I tell you: Don’t worry about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Isn’t life more than food and the body more than clothing? 26 Look at the birds of the sky: They don’t sow or reap or gather into barns, yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Aren’t you worth more than they? 27 Can any of you add a single cubit to his height by worrying? 28 And why do you worry about clothes? Learn how the wildflowers of the field grow: they don’t labor or spin thread. 29 Yet I tell you that not even Solomon in all his splendor was adorned like one of these! 30 If that’s how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today and thrown into the furnace tomorrow, won’t He do much more for you—you of little faith? 31 So don’t worry, saying, ‘What will we eat?’ or ‘What will we drink?’ or ‘What will we wear?’ 32 For the idolaters eagerly seek all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them. 33 But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things will be provided for you. 34 Therefore don’t worry about tomorrow, because tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own. 


But this passage was already brought to mind before the GLS so while it is a great passage it’s not really the one I was to focus on.


I decided to take a closer look at the phrase that captured my attention on Friday. 
  
Go bloom where you are planted 

 Hmmm, in order to bloom you must be planted. 


Get planted…Roots 


We live in a transitory world. They say the average adult changes their job 5-7 times in their life. The Department of Labor statistics show that by age 42 you will probably have had 10 jobs. The days of our parents and grandparents working 30-40-50 years in one job are gone. We are always moving. The world seems to be moving faster and faster.


In the church there is a similar phenomenon. Did the Pastor speak a difficult message that doesn’t meet with the changing cultural attitudes? Did the worship just not feel right? Did someone take your parking spot? Too often people will take offense at something and just get up and go. This cycle of going from church, to church, to church hinders spiritual growth. 


The church in Acts was relational, Acts 2:42-47 (NIV). There were no lone ranger Christians. 


42 They devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and to the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer. 43 Everyone was filled with awe, and many wonders and miraculous signs were done by the apostles. 44 All the believers were together and had everything in common. 45 Selling their possessions and goods, they gave to anyone as he had need. 46 Every day they continued to meet together in the temple courts. They broke bread in their homes and ate together with glad and sincere hearts, 47 praising God and enjoying the favor of all the people. And the Lord added to their number daily those who were being saved. 


If God has placed you in a spirit-filled church stick and stay, put down roots, and let God plant you. He is the gardener after all. Oh, there will be issues at times, we are human after all, but put down roots, it is the only way you can grow. If you are not in a spirit-filled church, I pray you find one. 


Planted in what...Soil 


Wildflowers are planted in soil. What type of soil leads to growth? Fertile, Good Soil. Mark 4:1-9, 13-20 


Again Jesus began to teach by the lake. The crowd that gathered around him was so large that he got into a boat and sat in it out on the lake, while all the people were along the shore at the water’s edge. 2 He taught them many things by parables, and in his teaching said: 3 “Listen! A farmer went out to sow his seed. 4 As he was scattering the seed, some fell along the path, and the birds came and ate it up. 5 Some fell on rocky places, where it did not have much soil. It sprang up quickly, because the soil was shallow. 6 But when the sun came up, the plants were scorched, and they withered because they had no root. 7 Other seed fell among thorns, which grew up and choked the plants, so that they did not bear grain. 8 Still other seed fell on good soil. It came up, grew and produced a crop, multiplying thirty, sixty, or even a hundred times.” 9 Then Jesus said, “He who has ears to hear, let him hear.” 


13 Then Jesus said to them, “Don’t you understand this parable? How then will you understand any parable? 14 The farmer sows the word. 15 Some people are like seed along the path, where the word is sown. As soon as they hear it, Satan comes and takes away the word that was sown in them. 16 Others, like seed sown on rocky places, hear the word and at once receive it with joy. 17 But since they have no root, they last only a short time. When trouble or persecution comes because of the word, they quickly fall away. 18 Still others, like seed sown among thorns, hear the word; 19 but the worries of this life, the deceitfulness of wealth and the desires for other things come in and choke the word, making it unfruitful. 20 Others, like seed sown on good soil, hear the word, accept it, and produce a crop—thirty, sixty or even a hundred times what was sown.” 


Stay in the Word, put down roots and stay in the word. Read the bible, pray and talk with God, listen to the Holy Spirit. If we stay grounded in Christ and spend time with Him, we will grow. 


Bloom, like a wildflower 


As you grow in the good soil you will bloom reaching your full potential in Christ. Your bloom will be pleasing and lovely like a wildflower, a beautiful aroma rising to the throne. Your life will bring hope, peace, and Christ to those who need Him. 


Go bloom where you are planted. God has a plan for you, you beautiful wildflower. 

In days to come Jacob will take root, Israel will bud and blossom and fill all the world with fruit. Isaiah 27:6

(Oh, as far as the song Picking Wildflowers is concerned, it turns out it is not germane to this blog post and the music isn’t finished yet so it will have to wait to see the light of day. I also need to learn to play penny whistle or find someone who does.)