Growth

  I want to share with you a relationship I’ve discovered between Peonies and Growth. Peonies are a gorgeous flower and happen to be my absolute favorite. They first emerge in spring after a long winter. Like them, I long to be outside in the warm sunshine. Cold winters help me more deeply appreciate the Spring and all that comes with it.

   Peonies, once established, are one of the toughest perennials out there. They have been compared to oak trees and can live for 50 years or more.  One peony can give you numerous plants throughout your yard, if you decide to dig them up and divide the tubers.  They are big and bushy, at nearly 4 feet tall and wide, with gorgeous full blooms that are simply jaw dropping. I cannot help but stop and admire others peonies when I see them as I am driving by. 

       In the first years after planting a peony, it will emerge with only 3-5 stems. They tend to be floppy with a small bloom or two if you are lucky. I know a few people who have given up on growing peonies after 1 or 2 years. This could be due to a lack of knowledge or patience. Although, it appears as though nothing is going on, underneath the ground is developing an intensive root system to support growth that can last a lifetime.

      So how does a peony compare to my own life? How does it compare to your life?  Ten years ago, I moved away from my hometown and to a new place with many dependencies and insecurities. Everything I once thought I needed, was changing and outside of my control. My distorted belief system about myself was excruciating to bear.  I was lost and confused.  I was being battered by the storms of life. I felt weak, as though I was barely hanging on by a few stems. I prayed with all my heart for help. God knew I was ready to change and by his grace, he sent people into my life. As a result, I found a cognitive therapy program that was just right for me. It opened my mind to the struggles I was experiencing. I now knew how I could begin to help myself. 

    The next few years, anxiety consumed me.  Just as the peony, I was tested by this challenging season of life. Although, it was not necessarily obvious, I was growing each day. Towards the end of the third year, light started to emerge. Just as peonies start to blossom years later, I was feeling some of those blossoms emerge in my own life. I was stronger and more self-reliant than I had ever been. It took time for me to grow in the ways I needed. 

   Looking back, I am grateful for those difficult times in my life because I have grown and developed into something more. I’m becoming a stronger more independent person. I am doing things I never thought I would do. I find myself writing to you, hoping to share my experience. To help someone that may be in this excruciating storm of life. You are never alone. God is aware of you. Do not give up! Those stems will get bigger, and eventually a strong specimen will develop. One strong enough to share itself with others. 

   Although peonies and flowers may seem insignificant to some, as I go out in the yard, they are a reminder that dark times pass. I am strong, growth is necessary, and eventually the light will shine through.  

- The Flower Fanatic