I am mesmerized by flower buds. When I look closely at them, I envision all the colorful petals that are hidden inside there, smushed together, just waiting to bloom freely. I imagine if those buds could talk, they might say things like:
“How long am I gonna be stuck this way?”
“I feel trapped…”
“How can I get out of here now?"
“I hate this feeling…”
“When will it be over?”
Does this sound familiar at all? We go through these seasons of life that feel suffocating. It may be a loss or a broken relationship or a struggle with depression or addiction. We’re so down in it that we’ can’t see out. We can’t pray. We can’t hope. We’re just stuck in survival mode. This is how it feels inside the bud.
But God knows what that bud is becoming. When we feel like nothing is changing, He is preparing us to bloom. He sees all those petals of ours before they unfurl. We may see an ending, but He sees a beginning. We may feel like it’s forever, but He knows it’s just a season – a transition. Something beautiful is coming. And even if we can’t do anything else at the moment, we can say, “I trust You, Lord.” We can hold onto a tiny seed of faith, believing that He is using everything we're going through for our good.
It may happen slowly, but He will bring us out and help us to see purpose in our pain. We will look back and see the freedom that came from a time we thought we would never get through.
Keep holding on. Keep believing for goodness to come. There are wonderful parts of your story that are yet to be told.