Bloom Where You are Planted

This morning when I was leaving the living room I happened to glance over at my Christmas Cactus that sits near our picture window. The blooms have started to pop open and many more promise to grace our home with their beauty in the coming weeks. I always enjoy their delicate appearance and look forward to seeing them return each year around this time.

This plant was a gift to me from my mom. Actually, she gave it to me in hopes that maybe I could get it to bloom because in the years that she was the owner of it - it never bloomed. She had been given this plant by a dear friend of hers many years ago and for whatever reason it just was not happy at my mom's house.

So I carefully loaded it into my truck and brought it home. I remember it being in a really nasty old pot and so I gingerly lifted the root ball out of the pot and put it into a nice new home and added some fresh soil. I place it in a spot where I knew the light would be just right and carefully watered it. One year went by and no blooms. I was disappointed but not surprised. That summer I took the cactus outside and let it live all summer out on our carport. It seemed to enjoy the warmth of the summer sun and I was concerned about how it would do when it was time to bring it back in.

I decided I would try a new location in our living room. The window in the living room faces east so the plant gets a nice warm touch of the sun each day. And apparently it likes it! For the past two years now we have been blessed with its beauty. Now all I do is water it and rotate it and treat it with tender care. My hope is that I will have this plant to enjoy for many years to come.

This all led me to think about how I have been somewhat like this plant. I have lived many places over the years. Some places I have bloomed and some places I have just sat dormant not blooming at all. There were places where I soaked in the healing rays of the sun and drank the cool waters without much tangible sign of development and change. But, now it seems that God has me in a place where the soil is rich, the light is right and the moisture permeates deep into my soul. I am praying that now I too will bloom where I have been planted. No longer seeking to be moved somewhere else but content to allow the Master Gardener to prune and to feed and to tend to my growth. I will put my roots down deep into His love and pray that I will bloom with the love of the Savior that all who know me will see Him through me.

Walking Away from Regret

Romans 8:1-2 "There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. For the law of the Spirit of life has set you free in Christ Jesus from the law of sin and death."

For quite sometime now regret has dogged my every step. Everything from eating that one last piece of pie when I knew I didn't need it to reminding myself again and again about the losses sustained in my personal life because of poor choices and outright sinful rebellion. The pile of regret continued to mound up until it took on proportions which blocked my path of growth and joy.

Why is it that we struggle so much with regret when we know that if we have asked God to forgive our sins He is faithful to forgive? Is it because we find it difficult to forgive ourselves and by wallowing in regret it somehow makes us feel better because we punish ourselves? In doing that we are putting our sin, our shame, our disobedience beyond the reach of God's grace. That must wound the heart of our Father.

I have determined that I am through living in regret. I have allowed regret to steal my joy. I realize that the consequences of choices are forever with us. But, God has promised that there is no condemnation for those that are in Christ Jesus. If I am no longer condemned by the creator of the universe then I have no right to stand in condemnation of myself. The sin is covered. The blood of Jesus Christ covers it all. And to go back and revisit that sin is simply wrong.

And so, the path away from regret is before me. I am wearing shoes that are sturdy. They will see me on this journey and protect me from the onslaught of the evil one as he tempts me to return to regret. These shoes have no tread that leaves a trail back. I cannot go back. I can only move forward. Thankfully, I do not walk alone. The Holy Spirit is there to guide and encourage my walk. Faithful family and friends uphold me in prayer. Regret and its chains no longer bind me. Praise God for the freedom that comes in Christ Jesus!