I winced as I looked at my six-pack of wilted impatiens. Leftover from my butterfly garden, they had sat under the tree for two weeks waiting for me to find a garden bed to squeeze them into. Originally bursting 
with color, the now shriveled, drooping blossoms showed little signs of life. I picked them up to toss them into the trash.
“There’s no way they’ll ever recover from this,” I thought. As I opened the trash can, something made me stop. What could it hurt to plant them in the bed out front? It took only minutes to plant the bedraggled plants and water them.
A few hours later I opened the front door to walk out to the mailbox. A flash of pink caught my eye and I stopped astounded. The withered flowers were completely revived, their leaves and blossoms plumped out nicely, the picture of health. I couldn’t believe it. I had been certain they were beyond hope. All they needed was good soil, a thorough watering, and some time to revive.
“It’s the same for people too,” the Holy Spirit whispered to my heart. I mulled that thought over and let its truth sink in.
There was a time in my life when I’ve felt like those flowers. For months after my infant daughter died, I was depleted, devoid of energy, joy … life. I wasn’t sure I would ever recover from the blow of losing her. I barely went through the motions of life. My friends and family stuck by me and kept praying. Several months after she died, I joined a Bible Study Fellowship group and God started slowly putting me back together. Over the course of the next year, I was planted in the fertile soil of my group and watered by God’s word and the testimony and encouragement of wise women. At the end of that year, I had revived.
Maybe you’re there today. Perhaps you think life is over for you. Too much heartache, too many mistakes. Your blooming days are behind you. I’m here to tell you that if you plant yourself in the fertile soil of a healthy church or Christ-based group and water yourself with His word, you will recover. Expose your wounds/sin to the healing light of God’s truth and love and give yourself time to heal and hope.
Get ready to bloom again. God is going to do a mighty work in your life!
Pray on!
What a blessing to wake up on a Saturday morning and read this challenge of hope.
Thank you, Earlita! God does amazing things when we turn to Him in our brokenness. He is always faithful.
Jane, thank you for sharing this. you are an encouragement and blessing.
Thank you, Andrea, for your encouragement. It does my heart good to know this helped you in some way. Thanks for taking the time to tell me this!
I so needed to read this today. I’m still going through the “empty nest syndrome”, things are too quiet.
For this and other reasons I feel that my good days are in the past.
Thank you for being here, and for the beautiful message!
Kathy,
I wish I could reach across the Internet and give you a big hug. God has much for you in the future. I know it takes a while to find your feet and your purpose after your kids leave. It did me. But God opened up vistas I never dreamed or even thought of, and He will for you too!
Dream big with Him. Ask Him to show you what is next. Take the steps he lays out for you. Allow yourself to feel excited about your future. Child rearing is a huge part of our lives … but it’s probably not your purpose. It’s there hiding somewhere, waiting for you to find it in your mind, in your heart, in your spirit. Let the Holy Spirit direct your steps; journal this journey. Let me know when you begin to find it, because I’m excited to hear what it is …