Late Bloomers

       The morning barely has light for the mother birds outside to begin searching for the early worm, and I am peering into a magnified mirror to allow myself to put on my face.....as I am looking at myself in a looking glass in my mid-life timeless age, I recollect my mother affectionately calling me a late-bloomer so many yearnful years ago.  What the heck is a late-bloomer?  It reminds me of a rose that is late in blooming during the hot summer months.....aching to show its beauty off....yet struggling to arch its petals in a graceful display.....Why does there have to be a struggle to bloom?

      If you consider the science behind the Fibonacci number system and the arrangement of petals and leaves on plants, then you would think that blooming would be an orderly and easy occurrence, but as we all know it is not.....Despite all odds, a clover will develop with four leaves. Four is not a Fibonacci number.  What seems to go against the order of nature occurs and thrives. I like that idea. How many of us feel like we don't fit in and struggle to find our place in nature? Well, we are as natural as those who do easily find their place, bloom, and thrive.  

       Roses are one my favorite blooms.  They represent a variety of characteristics which most of us dream of acquiring or achieving like joy, gentleness, happiness, gratitude, friendship, enthusiasm, grace, purity, and love, The wild Woods rose whose scientific name is Rosa woodsii inspires me the most.  It thrives in a variety of settings from moderate shade to full sun and can be found on prairies, plateaus, dry slopes, open woods, ravines, and thickets.  In the midst of a harsh environment, a wild rose bush will take root in rocky soil to grow into a graceful gentle display of color amongst the duller grays and browns of its surroundings.  The blooming petals becoming splashes of hopeful life.

     Each of the five petals represent the high virtues required to attain life in one's own soul.  To me the petals around the carpel represent faith, hope, love, humility, and patience.  The delicate petals attract important elements to the carpel....elements which are required to produce new life within a rose. Just think what the world would be like if we allowed our souls to bloom.....opening wide to not only display these virtues but also to attract other souls to bring new life to our world. What a joyful thought!  Isaiah said it best in 35:1...."The wilderness and the dry land shall be glad; and the desert shall rejoice, and blossom as the rose."

      In the midst of adversity, late-bloomers should be the most magnificent of displays of virtue for as we persevere through our struggles, our petals of virtue slowly develop to become beautiful attractions. Blooming late is as much a natural blessing as those who were graced with blooming early.  With effective spiritual and mental training, we can learn to overcome our adversities and transform them into stepping stones to greater achievement. Our struggles become the thickets which support our stretch and bloom away from mediocrity.  

Freesia

    We each have our own time to bloom.  Just as the different species of flowers bloom during different seasons, we each have our own season.  Be patient and loving with yourself.  Find a bloom which represents your soul's calling and allow it to inspire you.  Other blooms which inspire me are freesias (spirited), violets (faithfulness), petunias (perseverance), wisteria (steadfast), and zinnias (thoughts of friends).  Their color, shape, and gracefulness remind me that my time to bloom is never over. Blooming is a cycle that perpetuates through life.........if we gently prune back the pain, sorrow, disappointments, and sin.  Hope will grow with each new blooming season.  Your growing hope will inspire others to bloom.

"I am the rose of Sharon and the lily of the valleys." 
- Song of Solomon 2:1

May you gently bloom over many seasons.
Salute!, little petunia

"The Earth laughs in flowers." 
- Ralph Waldo Emerson