My mom is a flower addict! She and my dad have a beautiful yard full of flowers. Over the years, she has suggested so many plants for me to grow in the sad beds around my house, but it is always followed by the, “Now, you’ll have to water them” statement. And I’m sure that she knows exactly what I’ll say…”Oh, well, guess that one’s not for me!” Our yard has always been a tough love kind of place—only the strong survive! But over the last year or so, I’ve found myself actually enjoying spending time with plants. I think that until now, I was nurtured out. When I was teaching, I always drove home feeling that everything I had to give for that day was gone. Don’t get me wrong. I loved the kids, and I guess that’s why the drain was so intense. I always made an intentional effort to give everything I had during the school day, but to come home ready to shift my focus to giving my all to my family. Then, of course, there are the goats! Back when we were breeding, I spent so much time investing my sweat and tears into the health and well-being of the herd that I had no energy to care for anything else on the farm.
Now, I am retired from teaching, my girls are grown, and I just enjoy having the adult goats with no Romeo on the premises. So, my need to nurture has shifted (surprise, surprise) to plants! I also had the thought that since we will be working in heaven one day, and since God started it all with a garden, I should at least gain some appreciation for growing things before I enter into glory! (lol) This long backstory has finally caught up to my point—dahlias!
I have always loved dahlias, and so this year I planted several varieties in my raised beds with the intention of moving the ones I love into the perimeter beds this fall. All summer long, I watched as the varieties grew. I had dwarf varieties that almost looked like bushes. They were this deep burgundy, and I loved them. I also had some huge white dahlias that I immediately picked a prime spot for in my landscaping. But throughout the hot summer, there was one variety that I thought, “um…that one’s a cull” every time I looked at it. The picture on the package that caused me to buy it was lovely. The petals were uniquely spikey. (I like unique spikey things—lol.) And the color—so pretty! It was a beautiful yellow center that radiated out to bright pink. Those huge blossoms beckoned, so I bought…I planted, and then I smirked at it all summer long.
Then came October. I was out feeding the goats and caught a flash of color from the raised beds that I had gotten tired of bothering with weeks ago. There she stood in all of her splendor. This beautiful dahlia that looked even better than the picture. And I thought, she was too tender for the heat of Alabama summers, but she kept right on growing. She didn’t get included in many of the kitchen island bouquets, but it didn’t matter. She kept right on growing. All of her sister plants are done for the year—no blooms for weeks, but this girl is in her glory. She is shining now in the overgrown weeds of my neglect, but next October, she will be shining in her permanent home by the porch. I pray that every time I see her, I will think about the lesson she gave me. We will not shine in every season, but no time is wasted by our creator. He is using every moment to grow us, building our strength, and storying up energy for His perfect time—for we are God’s masterpiece, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared ahead of time for us to do.