Still Blooming

 Flowers are a beautiful part of God's creation! What fascinates me even more about flowers are the different varieties of flowers and how they are all unique in their own way 💖. Certain flowers bloom in certain seasons. Flowers also need to be watered and properly taken care of. When plants or trees bloom, they produce flowers. When flowers bloom, they open up. When we think about God's creation, flowers and plants weren't the only thing that was created to bloom. God created us to bloom, too!! Yes, me and you!! We are unique and one of a kind, just like flowers 😊. God wants his people to bloom. When we look at individuals blooming, it's when people are healthy, energetic, and attractive. It's having a freshness of energy and perspectives of life in general. Are we perfect? No! Can we keep making progress? Absolutely yes!! As you know, we are in the month of June, the sixth month of the year. We are at the halfway point of 2025! Self-reflection is always good to do. In my recent reflection time, I have been looking over this month and my few weeks of summer break so far. One word immediately comes to mind: grateful 💖!! I shared in a previous post that at the beginning of the month I went on a bus trip to D.C. and Maryland. That was so much fun and a beautiful experience indeed 😊!! Since the trip, I was able to celebrate one of my Aunts at her birthday party. I had a wonderful time! It was a blessing to be with family! A bonus: It was with my Dad's side of the family and the day before Father's Day. Father's Day is always bittersweet for me because Daddy's not here anymore (Oh how I miss my guy!!!). However, being with my Daddy's side made it a little easier to get through the next day. Father's Day was still bittersweet, but I was still feeling joyful and grateful from the birthday celebration for my Aunt (she is one of my Dad's big sisters 💖). The Father's Day service at church was good. God helped me write and share an original poem for the service titled, "A Letter to Dad." I was still thinking about my Daddy of course, but I'm glad I could give encouragement to the fathers present at the service. Then, the following weekend, one of my sister friends and I went to a local carnival. That was a lot of fun 😊!! I had not gotten on rides in forever!! Now, my sister friend loves getting on the rides that go high. Now, I don't mind getting on the rides that are safer and closer to the ground, but I'm not one to get excited about the ones that go high. But that day at the carnival, I went out of my comfort zone and I'm glad! My sister friend was encouraging me to get on rides I normally would not have rode. There were 3 rides I was hesitant to ride at first, either because it went really high or fast. One of the first rides that was high that I got on was named High Roller. Let me tell you, it lived up to its name 😂😃!! Every time I thought about not getting on a ride out of my comfort zone, I kept telling my sister friend, "If I got on High Roller, I can get on anything!" There was one ride that neither one of us had gotten on before -Zero Gravity! That was the real fast one!! Now, I had my mind made up that I wasn't riding that one at all. We sat down, drank water in the shade, and took a break. I said at least we'll be on the ride together. Finally, we got on it and conquered it!! I'm glad we also saved it to the almost end because that was a wrap after that!! There were lots of laughs and screams the whole time 😀. Was I tired afterwards?! Oh yes! Overall, Carnival Day was a blast!!! Recently, I had a doctor's and dentist appointment that both went well. Praise God for that! I share all that to say I'm still blooming 💖!! I praise God!!! I continue to work on being healthy, staying energetic, and keeping fresh energy and perspectives on life. I continue to surround myself with people who uplift me and encourage me. My brother and I have a lily plant in our house that we have had since 2008. Yes, it's been blooming for 17 years 😊!! I look at the lily a lot and think look at how it's still blooming after all these years

. Don't underestimate how long something seems to be taking to work out. It's being worked out even if you can't see it. Keep working on you and enjoy the opportunities to bloom😊.  You're still blooming and I love to see it!! May God bless you all!!