The rhododendron is blooming. What!?! I have never known a rhododendron to bloom in October. But sure enough, the plant is loaded with buds which are in the process of opening!
Not only that … the strawberries are loaded with an entirely fresh new set of blooms too! What!?!
As you can see from the background photo, the strawberry plants are heavy with a second harvest of fruit setting on.
Last week the blog posts dealt with loss of friendships/relationships. God created us with a need for connection and relationship. We need each other! We need connection and friendship in order to thrive in life!
The rhododendrons bloomed beautifully this past spring, and the strawberry plants produced a nice harvest earlier this summer. This could be compared to the beauty and harvest which God brings about in our lives through our relationships/friendships.
However, seasons change. A job moves us across the country. We lose our social circle. We lose our close connections at our former place of employment. We are faced with starting over again. It feels like a dry barren season … much like the dry barrenness of a hot summer (which caused the grass to go dormant).
Yet God is always at work.
God is in control of the seasons of our life … and God can bring about a fresh new set of blooms and a fresh new harvest … no matter what the season might look like!
What exactly is the purpose of blooms? What is the purpose of the fruit? The blooms bring beauty to life … the fruit nourishes and sustains life. This is what God does in our lives when it comes to relationships/friendships!
Our relationships/friendships bring beauty to our lives! Our relationships/friendships nourish and sustain us. And not only that … WE can be the ones blooming and bringing beauty into the lives of those around us! WE can be the ones producing a harvest of righteousness by which others’ souls are nourished and sustained by the love of Christ, the peace of Christ, patience extended, kindness given, etc. …
If you are dealing with loss of friendships/relationships in your life, trust God to bring beauty and a fresh new harvest once more! He can and He will.
God is good! We can trust Him!
