flourish

Flourish. Jesus has called me to flourish: to grow prolifically, to thrive, to display His glory. But I admit much of the time I feel the opposite...like I’m a case study of what it looks like to not flourish. Tired, distracted and vacillating between living on autopilot and living on the wrong fuel, I’m repeatedly surprised by the resulting emptiness.

I’m reminded of a plant in my kitchen. I had listened to the advice to keep it in a dark room and not water until the soil was bone dry. Bad advice. Yellowed and wilted, each day it looked worse than the day before.

Finally one day, when it was the saddest plant I’d ever seen, I absentmindedly moved it near my kitchen window and flooded it with water. I went to change out the laundry and here is what I saw when I returned: its arms were raised high, palms facing the window with its turgor pressure in full force. And it was smiling. Have you ever seen a plant smile? I have. And it whispered a quiet, “thank you.”

Ok, maybe that didn’t happen. But the change after simply moving it to the sunlight and giving it a drink was shocking. It was doing exactly what it was created to do, what it had been longing to do for longer than I’ll admit--taking in sunlight and nutrients and showcasing it’s green leaves.

It had found its glory.

I wonder if this is a lesson on what it means to Flourish? Maybe it’s as simple as facing the light, taking Him in, and then doing what I’m created to do. Why do I complicate this? Why do I often choose to starve and wilt? Why do I persist in my stubbornness to live my days without Him? I don’t know if it’s my lust for control or accomplishment, but I’ve taken the simple life with God and added stuff He never intended.

The truth is, flourishing is clear and simple. I take Him in and I flourish: I feast on His word and I flourish; I marinate in His presence and I flourish; I drink in His Spirit and I flourish. In Him I grow and His light brings health and wholeness. And then I simply do what I was created to do--I display Him in whatever season, circumstance, joy or pain I find myself. Fully nourished, I am free to display His glory, no longer wilting, but flourishing in Him.