I Cannot Make A Flower Bloom...

It was a beautiful day! The sun was shining, warm breezes were blowing my auburn hair. I felt SO alive! The little mid-west town we lived in was full of activity as all the children were out of school and enjoying their vacation time. I rode my little orange Huffy Sundance bike around as fast as my 9 yr. old legs could pedal, just looking for something to do. Then I spied a field of what looked to be oddly shaped weeds with tall, thick stems & strange green heads on them. Weird! I stopped my bike, put the kick-stand down and went in for a closer look. I vaguely remembered a beautiful field of bright red flowers being in this place the summer before. Could this be the beginning of the same awesome display? Getting on my knees, I took a bud between my fingers to examine it. The greenish outer shell of the bud had come open just a sliver and inside I could see a brilliant red color. Ohhhh, how exciting! I tenderly pried open the outer shell to reveal the crimson bud beneath. It was just a bunch of petals tightly wrapped in a tear-drop shape. Suddenly, I had a "brilliant" idea! I wanted to make the poppies bloom. Wouldn't people be impressed when they saw all my beautiful flowers?! So I began the meticulous process of peeling the petals down, until the first flower looked somewhat open- as a mature flower would be. Satisfied, I moved on to the next, then the next. I have NO idea how long I worked with those poor flowers, but after forcing 5 or 6 to "bloom", I was very proud of my accomplishment. However, when I looked back on the first few I had already unfolded, I found they were completely dark and shriveled! The stems were bent, the blooms were facing the ground instead of the sky. This confused me, as I tried very hard to be helpful. However if you've ever pried to MAKE a flower bloom before it's time you know the petals are delicate and easily torn. Within a short time, the flowers I had worked so hard with had wilted. What I thought would be glorious blossoms were now forever lost. The lesson I learned that day would come in handy years down the road. Everything and every heart has it's own time and season. Often as a Christian I get impatient. The end is near, I want to convert people, to see more results, but God has His own plan and a time-table for every human soul. Perhaps the human spirit is very delicate and should never be molested by well-intentioned interference. Pushed to mature out of season, or trampled underfoot by the over-eager indoctrinator, a heart will only wither. Just a few short weeks after my sad little experiment, the warm glances of summer sunlight and the kiss of gentle rains brought the field into full bloom- without my assistance and to God's glory- not my own. The Spirit wants to move in us to reflect the Love of God. "When the loving character of Christ is revealed, hearts will turn to Him as naturally as a flower turns to the sun." ~ E.G.W.