Tuesday, September 15, 2009

BLOOM WHERE YOU ARE PLANTED




Here in Georgia, crape myrtles are in full bloom! Boasting shades of pinks, crimson, corals, white and lavender, these beauties are all around us. Beloved in the South, crape myrtle is a wonderful perennial deciduous shrub or small tree that provides landscape interest year around, requiring minimal attention and lasting throughout the fall giving away to a fabulous autumn show. The long-blooming flowers appear in mid-summer, with a bloom period that runs from July to late October, sometimes more than 120 days.
As a 50 something woman, I love to stop and notice life analogies in nature. I believe this unique plant is a great example of how we must bloom while we can. The crape myrtle buds represent earlier seasons of our lives when we were busy mothering and working and running around each day. These fabulous blooms symbolize our lives today, a chance to bloom while we can. We can heed an important lesson from this delicate flowering tree...blooming takes time...and patience, too!
Are you and I showing patience towards ourselves during this season of our lives? Let us be our own best cheerleader as we bloom wherever we are planted.
Yes, let's take courage along with us today and bloom! That was my Mama's response back in July 2006, just 4 months before her passing. When she was given the news of her cancer diagnosis, she bravely stated:
"Well, we're supposed to bloom where we are planted." And so she did...never looking back from that decision to live out her days courageously.