Plant, Abide, Bloom

“Let Him easter in us, be a dayspring to the dimness of us, be a crimson-cresseted east.”― Gerard Manley Hopkins

A Blessing for You Who Are Being Planted
by Kate Bowler, Jessica Richie, Good Enough: 40ish Devotionals for a Life of Imperfection

“Blessed are you who are buried. You who feel stuck in the depths of grief and despair or who sit in the pit of unknowing. You who are learning to trust the timing of a tender Gardener.

Blessed are you who are growing, you who burst with new life, fresh creativity. Who understand the pain that sometimes comes with stretching and changing, pruning and being cut back.

And blessed are you in your season of fruitfulness. You who are learning to abide in the vine, and who taste the sweetness of God’s loving-kindness. The God who was there all along—planting, waiting, watering, pruning, delighting. The God who pays careful attention to God’s garden.”

Whether a seed buried fresh in the dirt or burst open in full bloom or somewhere in between, may you know loving-kindness in all stages, seasons and cycles.
Blessings each day in the variety, stuck-ness, chaos and calm.
Gratitude amidst grief.
Grace holding your hand.
Joy that anchors, sustains and propels you to continue on in hope and anticipation.
Plant, abide, bloom.

“The world is charged with the grandeur of God.”― Gerard Manley Hopkins