Post #3: Just A Thought
Lately, I’ve been catching myself in this old narrative about life.
It’s a narrative that has most certainly served me well in the past, but now, with all of the life experiences I’ve had, I realize it’s no longer the best one for me anymore. The narrative goes like this:
“I know there are good things ahead. If I just keep my head down, and press onward, those good things will be mine before I know it.”
I’ve had some seasons of my life where my circumstances were so limiting that a hopeful mindset for positive change in the future really kept me from dropping into a gloomy place of discouragement. Sometimes things just are as the are…and life is what it is. You have to deal with your life realistically, and do everything in your power to stay strong. So for me, holding out hope for better days to come is an honest effort on my part to fixate on things beyond my reality so I have something to strive toward.
But now, my hopeful projections seem to be mixing up my vision so all I can see is the hope I have for moments to come, versus clarity for the minutes I’m living right now!
For days, I’ve been considering this wrinkle in my thoughts, and it seems like whenever I’m working on a shift in my understanding, an illustration shows up for me — and very often, it’s cleaning related. But this time, the word picture only came to me while I was cleaning, and instead of involving Tide Original or some other amazing cleaning solution, the lesson appeared in the dropping blossoms of an orchid.
One of my very best friends gave me an orchid for my birthday — which is in September. It’s February right now, and that gorgeous plant is still speckled with a few blossoms! (Clearly, the window over my kitchen sink is the perfect spot for it! ) But as I was washing some dishes, I noticed that another one of the few remaining blossoms finally let go, and it was quietly resting on the countertop next to my sink.
I stopped to look at the pretty orchid. It has made me so happy for months with all of those delicate flowers studding the stems. And while some people don’t have great luck keeping their orchids going after the blooms fall off, I’ve always experienced multiple bloom cycles with mine. I suppose that’s why my orchids have always been a symbol of patience and hope in my life. I’ll endure an ugly barren season with one of my plants because I know they’ll bloom again.
See how often this hope-deferred narrative runs in my head?
But as soon as I drifted into my typical future thinking, I noticed something quite surprising. There are already four new buds on the stems of this orchid! And it’s only a matter of days before they burst open with a new flower! There’s even a brand new stem growing out of one of the older stems!
So the hope of new blooms on this orchid isn’t in the future — the hope is here right now!
As I stood there admiring this faithful little plant, I couldn’t help but think of the friend who gave it to me. No matter where I place my hopes, there is never a moment in my life when I’m not truly blessed and truly equipped to step into the goodness that surrounds me. I’m loved, I’m understood, and I’m exactly where I’m supposed to be — which is right in the middle of so much abundance if I just pay attention!
I’ll probably always press onward with optimism and belief in my heart, but I do believe this is a season for me to acknowledge everything I already have in this hope-packed heart of mine.
