Flourish

Last year I attended a women’s conference where the word "flourish" was spoken about.  At the time we were living in Kingston and while it seemed to be a season of financial growth for Andrew and I, we really felt stunted in a lot of other areas. We felt unbalanced and longed for a sense of community and belonging. We had been toying with the idea of moving and it was over the course of that conference weekend that I began to feel a peace and certainty that we should move. I felt that God had planted the word "flourish" in my heart as a glimpse of the opportunities He might be preparing for us.

This word really does paint a pretty picture. I envision brilliant blooms, bright and stunning. To flourish means to grow or develop in a healthy or vigorous way, especially as the result of a particularly favourable environment. The idea of flourishing gave me so much hope and allowed me to take on a number of unknowns. We took the plunge and made the move. All the while I had this hope in my heart that God was bringing us to a new place to flourish, to grow in ways that we felt lacking in, to be nourished in ways that we were longing for.

Imagine then my confusion when some aspects of our life weren’t pretty.  They didn’t feel like brilliant white blooms. They didn’t even feel like weeds. They looked and felt like nothing but dirt. In my desperation, I sat in my living room in the middle of the night. Through tears I said to God,

“I thought you brought us here to flourish. This doesn’t feel like flourishing at all!”

All I could keep thinking of was this word flourish which in my frustration had now been dubbed “such a stupid word”. I truly felt that God had brought us out of Kingston and into a new season of our lives and that it was to be for the good. I questioned why glimpses of good were still outweighed by hurt and disappointment.  A few days later I was sitting in church feeling like a jerk for getting frustrated with God. As I started apologizing, I felt God ask me,

“What does a flower look like before it blooms?”

I was immediately humbled and comforted all at the same time. The truth is that before a flower blooms it is just a seed. It is a seed that is buried in the dirt; cold, alone and probably covered in crap (literally).

For more than half a year I had put so much weight on this word “flourish” and had romanticized what our life, marriage, home, jobs and friendships would look like as they flourished and blossomed and became all that they could be. And there’s nothing wrong with chasing that vision or seeking God’s blessings in that way. But I was so focused on this concept of flourishing that I hadn’t taken time to realize that flourishing is the end result! I had forgotten about the process. Here I was expecting to be sitting in this place of beauty and blossoms but had forgotten that there would be a lot of grunt work in the process.

“Flourish” is a great word to have spoken over your life. It’s a great focus or a great mantra. But don’t get caught up in a word or idea or goal that you forget about the process. The process Andrew and I are in as we walk towards God’s version of flourishing in our life, our marriage, our home, our jobs and friendships isn’t as pretty now as what the end result will be. There are times when it has felt dark, lonely, cold and with no shortage of crap. Now that I understand the process I am so much more content to be in it!

So may you too come to a time of flourishing. May you bloom and blossom and flourish and thrive.
But may you be content in the time before that time.

May you become rooted in Him, firmly established in love, that you may have power, together with all of the Lord’s holy people, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, and to know this love that surpasses knowledge –
that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God.
- Ephesians 3:17-19

In whatever season we may find ourselves in, God is in relentless pursuit of our hearts. I encourage you to take a peek at what myChurch Ottawa is doing to encourage women of any age and stage to reach the fullness of their God-given potential. I know I'll be attending!

How about you - What season are you in? Are you “in the process” or have you come to the completion of a goal? Remember, seasons are cyclical. Take what you learned from the process this time around and prepare better for the challenges ahead. What verse(s) do you look to when facing discouragement? Who can you encourage today in their pursuit of flourishing?