Bounce Back

 We all have had setbacks. We all have had disappointments. We all have experienced rejection. We all have been hurt in some way or another. It's not fun. It's not easy. It can be hard to look up again, to trust again, to move forward. In fact, it can be downright devastating. But I have good news today- we can bounce back!! It doesn't happen all at once or overnight, but it will happen. In a previous blog post, I talked about how we have plants in our house and how my Mom was always the plant person. For those who don't know, my Mom passed away in January 2020 after a brief illness. In our house, my brother and I have plants from before my Mom passed and after she passed. Her plants skills must have rubbed off on us because the plants that were blooming when she was here are still blooming! One of the plants we have in our house is a lily plant. I love them! Side note: If you're looking for an easy house plant to take care of, lilies are what you want! We have three lily plants altogether- one was here when our Mom was here and two came along after her. Our oldest lily plant has been with us since 2008! The leaves on the oldest lily plant will droop a lot when it needs water. Now the lilies don't need to be watered every day, but I love how they let you know what they need. It's their signal saying "Water me." In fact, last night, I watered the oldest as I was sitting on the couch and noticed it drooping. When it droops, there is no need to throw it away or stop watering it. It just needed attention. Just because it's down doesn't mean it's dead- a Word for somebody! While we have a nice amount of house plants, we didn't have a lot of outside flowers. So, back in May, my brother and I purchased two outdoor flowers. One sits in our backyard and it is called new guinea. It is doing beautifully and has been since day 1. The other flower, the petunia, sits in our front yard. The petunia started off doing well, but then I noticed after a week or so, it wasn't flourishing like the new guinea. Did you see how I was comparing the two?! I mean, I saw a few flower petals, but not as many as when we first got the flower. Then, lo and behold, about 2 weeks after that, all the flower petals were gone! Both my brother and I noticed it. One day when I was watering the new guinea, I walked by the petunia and said I'm going to water it. Now remember at this point, there were no flower petals. There was no evidence whatsoever. It may have looked crazy to someone else, but I watered it anyway because I knew it had the potential to bounce back. Now go with me to about a week ago. I was outside and looked at the petunia again. Guess what I saw this time?! Flower petals! That's right- they had bounced back! In that moment, God taught me a lesson. We don't have to be worried. We don't have to compare our growth to others. Both the new guinea and petunia are beautiful in their own way. It is the same way with us as individuals. We are uniquely beautiful in our own way. We may not be blooming as fast as the next person, but  we have to trust God for our timing. I have felt like the late bloomer with a lot of things, but that's alright. God is truly growing me and I'm thankful! Just because you don't see evidence right away with your physical eyes doesn't mean change isn't happening. We can't stop praying. We can't stop serving. We can't stop being consistent. Are we watering and taking care of the seeds we already have? Will we still serve even when we don't see results? Will we still love even when others are not treating us right? Will we still help even when it seems like no one is helping us? Will we still pray even when we haven't seen an answer? Will we still stand and speak God's promises even when we haven't seen it unfold fully, but we know it will? Will you be like the petunia and bounce back? Keep doing all the things you know to do. Do them well. Do them consistently. Do them faithfully. Do them wholeheartedly. Before you know it, you'll see a sprout here and a sprout there and then a whole flower petal. And, not just one, but several! So it's not too late- we can bounce back!