It is strange how a song can change your perspective. I've written about this song before, "My faith is in Bloom" by Aron Kirk, our beloved and talented worship minister. I went back to the meaning of that song because of an upcoming worship session.
I realized that my faith is still in bloom. I realized that the blooming was not about the cancer, but about faith. There is a part of me that wonders if cancer happened to get my attention focused on what God had in store for me. I say that because my journey was not really about dealing with cancer. It was about having faith in the middle of a crisis, of pain and suffering.
Blooming is about letting those seeds of suffering become something beautiful. Blooming is about letting God have control over the suffering as he has control over nature and the flowers that bloom. We are ultimately created for his happiness. For His happiness. We make him happy. How much happier he must be when we show the love that he has for us and for others during our suffering.
It's like this. First a seed gets thrown into the ground a covered with soil. What we don't see is that the soil has the nutrients the seed needs in order to grow. Add the sunshine and the rain and you've got the perfect recipe for a beautiful flower.
We are that seed, thrown into this world (soil). Our soil has the nutrients we need: relationship with God. He nurtures our soul, infiltrates it with the SON and the water needed for our growth. We can only blossom if we grow. We can only grow if we have experiences to learn from. And those experiences that we learn the most from include suffering.
We are promised as Christians that we will suffer. It is a part of the fall, a promise made and kept since time began. Jesus loved us enough to suffer the most excruciating death. Not only the pain of the nails and the weight of his body, but the very real pain of our sin.
If Jesus suffered we should expect the same. But Jesus is the fullest bloom we could ever see- like an amaryllis. He blooms with the love of God-as man, spirit and God. We are mere clovers, constantly mowed down or eaten by the animals, always covered by the shadow of our beautiful Lord.
Let his shadow cover you. Let his shadow hover over you and lead you on your path of life changing blossoms.
I don't want cancer to be my story. My story is so much more than that. It is about a faith I didn't know existed-one that has changed every song I hear, every sermon spoken into a personal message from God. Words have become a part of the nutrients I need to bloom. They are life giving and life changing. They come from God in the form of song, thought, and action. They come from a renewed interest and thirst for bible study. Words are so much more than they used to be. They are full of messages from the SON that shines down on my seeds of suffering to cheer me on to a beautiful bloom.
And together what a beautiful garden we are- my family, friends and church family. A blossom farm, awaiting the great harvest.
Bloom with me, and I'll meet you at the harvest party.
With love,
Vicki
