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Irises.  I love them.  They are, without a doubt, my favorite flower.  There are other flowers that I like a lot, but nothing really compares to an Iris.

The Bearded Iris, my absolute favorite, comes in several different colors: lavender, yellow, blue, purple, and more.  The flower itself is so intricate, almost delicate.

Some of these beauties grow to over 40 inches tall with the flowers as large as 4 to 7 inches across.  Now I don’t care to give you a lesson in horticulture.  But I do want you to know that in order for an Iris to grow to its full potential, the rhizomes (the horizontal underground stem) have to show on top of the soil.

Why didn’t they bloom?

When I first planted my Irises, they didn’t bloom very well.  I questioned someone about it.  She asked me if I had the roots (rhizomes) uncovered.  No, I didn’t.  I thought I needed to plant them like every other plant…underneath the ground.  So, I had covered them up.  She told me to go and uncover them.  And, I did.

The next thing I knew these absolutely beautiful yellow and lavender blooms were everywhere.  Every year, we go outside and make sure the “roots” are uncovered.  We don’t put mulch over them.  The leaves and any dirt must be removed from the top of them.  And I get my favorite flower…all over my garden.

You may ask, at this point, why am I talking about flowers.  What does that have to do with anything?  Well, let me explain. 

A lesson in nature

This is a lesson I have given my kids over and over. In order to get the beautiful, intricate flowers, the “roots” have to be exposed to the elements.  The sun shines down on them.  The rain and the wind blow against them.  They are not protected under the ground like most flowers. They are unprotected by the soil, taking what comes their way. Then, they bloom into the most gorgeous flowers.

We are often the same way.  In order for us to become the people God had in mind when He created us, we have to be “exposed to the elements”. The rain will fall on us.  The sun will beat down on us.  The storms will rage against us.

Count on it

It will hurt.  It will not be easy.  But if we allow God to work in our lives, we will grow.  We will become the person that we never thought we could be….do things we never thought we could do.

The fact is, life is hard.  When we come to Christ, He never tells us that life will all of a sudden be easy. It will not be.  Count on it.

The thing is, God will use everything that He allows to come our way to grow us. 

If we hide and shrink away from everything that might hurt, everything that is hard, will we ever grow? Will we bloom to our full potential?  Probably not.

Don’t be afraid

We really can’t stay cloistered in our little safe place and expect God to use us.  We can’t live in fear of being hurt by something or someone and expect to somehow become the person God wants to grow us into. He knows what is best for us. Let’s trust that.

However, do not hear me saying we should go out and look for the hardest thing to do…look for ways to get hurt…that’s just dumb.  Sorry, it just is.  What I am saying is don’t live in fear of being hurt.  Don’t be afraid to do the hard thing, if that is what is needed. Don’t be afraid of the trials that come our way.

God is not going to leave you in the middle of it!

What has God have to say?

What does Scripture have to say about facing trials?

Check out James 1:2-4:

Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance. Let perseverance finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything. (NIVUK)

I have to confess; I struggle with considering my trials as “pure joy”.  They don’t make me happy. But does this verse really mean that we are to be happy about experiencing hard times?  I don’t think so. Rather, we should accept them and not resent them.  Maybe we should realize that God has allowed them to come our way to mature us.

Trust God

I don’t know about you, but as soon as I start getting uncomfortable, I start trying to figure out how to get comfortable again! Should I not instead allow the trials to do the job that they are meant to do?  Possibly trust that God knows what He is doing?  Remember, He wants us to be complete, lacking in nothing.

Look at James 1:2-4 in the Message:

 Consider it a sheer gift, friends, when tests and challenges come at you from all sides. You know that under pressure, your faith-life is forced into the open and shows its true colors. So don’t try to get out of anything prematurely. Let it do its work so you become mature and well-developed, not deficient in any way.

I’m not saying that we shouldn’t try to solve the problems that come our way.  If the van breaks down, we need to fix it. But maybe, I shouldn’t get all bent out of shape about it. Maybe, I can look to see what God is up to in the trial He is allowing to come my way. 

He has a purpose in all of it. I know I can trust Him.

True colors

I need to remember that when I’m exposed to the elements, my “true colors” shine through.  Unfortunately, they may not be so shiny. Sometimes, they just aren’t pretty.  That mouth of mine needs to stay closed.  That attitude…well, you get the picture!

I need to let God continue His work in me.  Accept the trials that come my way as from the Hand of my loving Father.  After all, I want to be mature and complete. I want to bloom like that beautiful Iris.

How about you?  When you’re exposed to the elements, how do you respond?  Do you bloom like an Iris or do you…..?

Leave a comment and let me know.