The garden boxes that once looked like a sea of soil overflow with green twisting stems, large textured leaves, and bright yellowish-orange flowers. The blossoms within the box add a sharp contrast to the verdant vines. Over the past six weeks, seeds, the size of small fingernails, developed roots which matured into stems, stretching tendrils, energy absorbing leaves, and bright sunshine-like blossoms. Hopefully in the weeks and months to come a harvest of zucchini, spaghetti squash, and pumpkins awaits.
I’m learning a lot about gardening and growing things outside. Did you know there are actually male and female blossoms that grow together on the same plant? The female flowers are the only ones that develop into fruit, and yet without the male flowers offering fertilization there would be no harvest. They blossom and grow side by side for the purpose of yielding fruit. What a beautiful metaphor for the spiritual journey. We need each other,
Have you ever been curious about the blossoms in your life? Wonder with me a moment.
When you chose to follow Jesus, the seed of faith planted within your soul began to develop. Over time, roots, reflecting salvation through Jesus Christ, brought nutrients, stability, and depth to your journey with God. The Bible reminds us that God designed us to bear fruit (Matthew 3:8, Galatians 5:22-23, Matthew 21:43, John 15), but I wonder about the blossoms; the precursor for the fruit.
Blossom – A flower or mass of flowers. To mature or develop in a promising or healthy way.
Blossoms resemble the seed. So, with the seed of faith in God in your life, what blossoms sprout from your vines? In what ways are you maturing and growing in healthy ways with God and in community?
My first thought when I consider blossoms is the fruit of the Spirit described by the apostle Paul in Galatians 5, and yet, I notice myself curious about other blossoms that grow within us as we journey with Jesus. In 2 Peter 3:18, the apostle Peter encouraged followers of Jesus to grow in the grace and knowledge of the Lord. What do blossoms of growth in grace and knowledge look like today? How do we mature and develop in the grace and knowledge of God? What do you think?
We receive grace from God because He chose to not give us what we deserve. As a result of our sin, we don’t deserve the opportunity to have relationship with Him, but God, in grace, made a way through Jesus Christ. The mighty reality that we can commune and enjoy a relationship with God results from grace. This causes my soul to be captured in awe of God’s goodness. What an incredible gift! God’s grace leads to gratitude. Gratitude blossoms from grace. There is so much for which to be thankful. What are you grateful for?
Grace begets grace.
Blossoms of grace look varied and interesting. The more I grasp the mighty and mysterious gift of God’s grace, the more I long to extend grace to myself and others. With gratitude, grace grows within me and leads me to love others without judgement or criticism. Freedom exists for each of us in our transformational path with the Lord. Grace positions me to love with God’s extravagant love. God’s love empowers me to love those around me. In what ways does grace empower you?
Grace also develops a holy curiosity within my soul for others. I marvel at God’s gracious presence and activity in the lives of others. I grieve for those stuck in cycles of self-condemnation and pray that God’s grace penetrates their souls. I recognize the beauty of God’s handiwork in the paths others walk. Admiring beauty in the world reflects growth in the grace of God. Take a moment today to pause and take in the beauty around you. Let’s glean and grow in the grace of God to ourselves and others. Those are blossoms of grace.
When I consider growing in the knowledge of the Lord, I realize this is far more than head knowledge. God invites each of us to “know” Him in the core of our being; to know God in our gut. Knowledge involves study, dedication, time, instruction, accountability, and more. Additionally, knowledge of the Lord includes unstructured and unhurried spaces of presence and being. This could be described as heart knowledge: a knowing deep within of God, often without clear words. What does “knowing” God look like in your life?
For me, blossoms of growth in knowing God look like quiet spaces, reflection with God and His activity, pleading and prayer in God’s presence, rest and recreation in God’s creation, songs and praise, and writing and wondering with my Savior. As I rest in knowing God, I notice His gentle movements and grow deeper in love with Him.
Knowing produces noticing and noticing grows knowing.
What about you? What do the blossoms of grace and knowledge look like in your life?
Because we desire to bear fruit – let’s pay attention to the blossoms growing in our lives. Cultivate and nourish the roots of your faith so that the stems, tendrils, and leaves work together to develop vibrant bright blossoms, that in God’s goodness, grow into delicious fruit to be shared with others.
Ready to Grow?
Read John 15 – wonder about the fruit developing from the blossoms in your life. Ponder what “remaining in God” looks like for you.
Make a list or journal of the blossoms of growth in the grace and knowledge of God in your life. What is God inviting you towards through this growth? In what ways might God invite you to surrender to His grace and presence?
But grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. 2 Peter 3:18
Enjoy growing in God!
Follow Soulcare Anchoress on instagram: soul_careanchoress
Drips from the Word: Muse about these Bible verses. Let these truths impact your living.
Ephesians 2:8-9 – For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God— 9 not by works, so that no one can boast. For we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.
John 1:16-17 – IOut of his fullness we have all received grace in place of grace already given. 17 For the law was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ.
Splashes from the Spigot: Drink from deep wells. Read these recommended books to fill your soul.
Ben Brezina. Living IN Jesus: Growing In The Life We Were Made To Live. Meadville, PA. 2019.
Andrew Nicholls. Real Change: Becoming More Like Jesus in Everyday Life. Greensboro, NC. 2018.
Sprinklings of Truth: Soak in meaningful songs. Check out these music videos to lift up your spirit.
Chris Brown & Brandon Lake | Heaven Come. Do It Again. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=llTruhsfYbg
Chris Tomlin. The God I Know. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0Ic9e11zv7E
Puddles for Prayer: Thank you for praying for upcoming travel and speaking engagements.
July 8-12 – Denver Seminary – Supervision of Certificate in Spiritual Direction Cohort