When I walked through the door, I could smell them before I saw them.
Lilacs — jars full of the cut blooms overflowed on the kitchen table. I inhaled deeply, one of my favorite fragrances and, because of this, one of my favorite flowers. My children had been cutting them from the yard and bringing them in, one handful after another.
I was given this lilac bush, along with a car full of other treasures, from a local nursery that was going out of business around the time we moved to the farm. We were busy with house renovations and massive repairs around the farm, but I still needed to dig the holes to plant everything we hauled home. I was very pregnant at the time and my sciatica prevented me from making the step-down motion it takes to break ground with a shovel.
All this to say, there wasn’t a lot of thought put into where to plant my scrawny, root-bound lilac bush. I remember thinking, “Weren’t lilacs once planted by outhouses to mask the smell?” I opted to just stick ours by the chicken coop and see what would happen. And, into the ground it went.
Over the next few years, this lilac bush lived but it didn’t grow much. In fact, it didn’t do much of anything. It maybe had three or four clusters of blooms per season, but that was it. It didn’t seem to get any taller or bushier. It was just there. Yet, all along our road were examples of tall, thick lilac bushes with showy displays of flowers. It had me wondering why ours was so . . . underwhelming. However, in the grand scheme of raising kids and livestock, troubleshooting my melancholy plant wasn’t high on the list of things to worry about.
Fast forward to last spring when we decided to move the chicken coop because our ladies needed to be moved to higher ground. All the years of scratching and rooting around in their run carved out a low spot that began to fill with water whenever it rained. So we picked a different spot in the yard, maybe ten feet away, and rotated it 90 degrees. It seemed like a small change that didn’t take much effort, but it made a big difference to our chickens.
Surprisingly, it also made a big difference to my lilac bush. . .
Over the rest of the spring and all through the summer, it thrived. I felt like I could almost see it growing! Not only taller, but it began to fill out and thicken up too. Suddenly, it all made so much sense. I didn’t pay attention to how much sunlight it would get when we first planted it, sticking it next to the chicken coop. Lilacs love full sun, and ours had been in the full shade of the coop for years. No wonder it hadn’t been doing much of anything.
Now, as I stand here in my kitchen seeing and smelling the evidence of a flourishing, healthy lilac bush, I keep thinking about this beautiful metaphor. For years, this plant merely survived, stuck in an environment it wasn’t created to be in. Now that it has been given full sunlight (or—depending on your perspective—now that the shade has been removed), it’s thriving.
It endured conditions that were against its nature; stunted but still alive. Now this lilac bush is not just surviving, but living abundantly.
Just like lilacs were created for direct sunlight, we were created to be in direct relationship with God. Comforted by His presence. Fueled by His warmth. Growing closer and closer to Him every day. Boldly displaying abundant blooms as a living example of the goodness and power of Jesus.
Thank you for this, nature has so many lessons for us if we just slow down and pay attention. This is a great encouragement for those times we have to stay steadfast where we are, but also shows us to take advantage of opportunities to flourish. Staying close to God is the key!
Thank you so much for reading and sharing
Jessica – Great job today. I shared your devotion because it spoke to me and I believe it will help others!
Lisa Wilt
PS – Lilacs are my favorite fragrance too!
Jessica, that’s quite the story about your lilac bush you got. I’ve had one for years and decided to get another one a farm in Woodland, WA seven years ago. I finally put the newer one in a bigger pot and it was ok and finally blooming a light bit a few years later. I finally got my husband to plant it in area where rocks are at and it has gotten bigger. Older lilac bush is in the lawn and it’s been dry and hot here in Woodburn that it started to wilt. My daughter set up a sprinkler to get to feeling better. I need to do that today after watering potted plants . I hope we get rain again soon as there’s so much fires in Oregon and a few close to area where we live. We pray for God’s help to protect the fire fighters and people in the area. I’m grateful for God to help us through our lives no matter what happens. I like the last few sentences that you wrote. So true .
Thanks for your kind words and for sharing!
Morning, Jessica…………..I enjoyed your story today. It made me smile and that is difficult in the season I stand in. I love lilacs too and we lived in a spot where there was not anywhere my husband could plant them; however I think your story really connected us to remembering at all times our relationship with God is one of our most important things to remember about him. You women from incourage are so good at giving us something to think about every day and that has helped me so much more than you could ever imagine at my age of 77. Never thought it would come to this. Thank you again and I send you a big smile and WOW, I can’t even think of what you were going through trying to plant those lilac bushes when you were pregnant with sciatica. Have a Blessed weekend and it was great to hear from you…………………………Betsy Basile
Yes, the relationship to God is so important! Thank you for your kind words and I hope you have a wonderful weekend too!
Thank you for this lovely share Jessica.
Blessings
Thank you so much, blessings to you as well!
Morning, Jessica…………..I enjoyed your story today. It made me smile and that is difficult in the season I stand in. I love lilacs too and we lived in a spot where there was not anywhere my husband could plant them; however I think your story really connected us to remembering at all times our relationship with God is one of our most important things to remember about him. You women from incourage are so good at giving us something to think about every day and that has helped me so much more than you could ever imagine at my age of 77. Never thought it would come to this. Thank you again and I send you a big smile and WOW, I can’t even think of what you were going through trying to plant those lilac bushes when you were pregnant with sciatica. Have a Blessed weekend and it was great to hear from you…………………………Betsy Basile This is not A DUPLICATE COMMENT. I just read it and there are only 2 other comments and neither of them are mine. This takes time.
Jessica, that’s quite the story about your lilac bush you got. I’ve had one for years and decided to get another one a farm in Woodland, WA seven years ago. I finally put the newer one in a bigger pot and it was ok and finally blooming a light bit a few years later. I finally got my husband to plant it in area where rocks are at and it has gotten bigger. Older lilac bush is in the lawn and it’s been dry and hot here in Woodburn that it started to wilt. My daughter set up a sprinkler to get to feeling better. I need to do that today after watering potted plants . I hope we get rain again soon as there’s so much fires in Oregon and a few close to area where we live. We pray for God’s help to protect the fire fighters and people in the area. I’m grateful for God to help us through our lives no matter what happens.
Thanks for reading and we’re both in the same neck of the woods! My lilac came from a nursery in Ridgefield, just south of Woodland. We are also praying for the fires and firefighters. Every May it seems I’m praying for sun and then by August I’m praying for the rain.
I got 2nd lilac bush at Hulda Kalger garden in Woodland. I remember Jane Kirkpatrick writing a book about Hulda’s and how she lost alot of yhr bushes due to a flood. There is 2 same comments from me due to the 1st comment didn’t go through for some reason on the website. Hugs and prayers Becky
Thank you for sharing Jessica. This makes me ponder the areas of my life where I’ve been content in the shade instead of the full warmth of His Spirit.
Such a beautiful reminder! Thanks for writing Jessica!
Loved your comparisons…..thanks. I am learning about planting and growing a garden and love that you are using these lessons in nature. Thank you and blessings from another from SW Wash.
There’s so much the creation can teach us about our Creator. Happy gardening!
What a perfect metaphor for how we can’t thrive aside from God! Love your heart and the way you write, friend.
Thanks for reading and your sweet comment. May we all continue growing towards the Son
This made me want to smell lilacs in the sunshine and meditate on God’s love and grace.
All the best things!
Jessica,
On days when it feels like I’m failing-It is simply because I haven’t spent much time with God. Life gets busy & we rush around so much. We don’t take the time for Jesus. A simple prayer, few minutes reading the Bible, listening to Christian music is all we need to do. Yet most of us-especially me don’t do it on a regular basis. When I make myself do it I feel much better & thrive more.
Blessings 🙂