aRE YOU WAITING TO BLOOM?

Cactus & Succulents are my favorite plants. Mostly because they are cute, so unique, & I have a hard time killing them since they are easy to care for:) This picture shows a big cactus that was in a yard of a home in our town that had a lot of trash all over the yard. I saw this cactus shining like a bright light in the midst of the trash and wanted it. I told my husband & months later he stopped by the home, asked to buy it, and when I came home that night from work it was waiting in my front yard for me. I was so excited! I now call it our “Love Fern” (…a movie reference from my favorite movie… do you know which one it is?)!

I didn’t know it but about 8 months later I woke up in the morning to see green buds had started to form on the large cactus. One magical morning later I woke up to see BIG YELLOW FLOWERS on the prickly cactus stems. Then, just like that, the next day, they were gone. I was so confused that I researched cactus flowers and found out that some cactus only bloom once a year & it only for 24-48 hours…but even then it is only under the right conditions!

“Cacti are flowering plants, so every kind of cactus is capable of blooming when it is mature. Whether or not an individual cactus plant blooms depends on its age and the care it gets. Some cacti don’t bloom until they are more than 30 years old. Others won’t bloom, even if they are old enough, unless they get proper light conditions, watering and fertilization. This is especially true for potted cacti…

…Most cacti need at least four hours of sunlight a day, preferably morning sunlight. Water them regularly during the growing season, allowing the top inch or two of soil to dry before watering again until water comes through the pot’s drainage holes. Don’t let water remain in pot saucers. Use well-draining soil-less potting mix,… Fertilize them monthly from when they begin spring growth to the end of summer… to promote bloom. Decrease watering in winter, and give your cacti a winter dormancy period with lower temperatures in the 50s.” (http://homeguides.sfgate.com/cactus-bloom-62730.html)

This really spoke to me. You see, I was and still am in a season of waiting to “bloom”. I know its coming, but I am in an intentional season of preparation. Just like a cactus, I need to prepare myself to bloom with the right conditions.

1. Spend Time in “The Light” Daily, preferably in the morning to start off your day. “When Jesus spoke again to the people, he said, ‘I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.'” John 8:12

2. Be Watered Regularly. Just like a cactus needs to be watered regularly during the growing season, so do we. We need to refresh daily. It isn’t selfish to have “me time”… It gives you something to give others. You can’t water others if your cup is empty.

3. Fertilize monthly during seasons of growth to promote bloom. Take time monthly to learn something new and invest in yourself. A workshop, a conference, a mentor, a book.

4. Have a Winter Dormancy Period. It is important to know what your season is. You can’t live a life going 110% all the time. There has to be times of rest. You have to give soil and yourself a time to rejuvenate before you can get to your next season of growth and blooming!

Wow, isn’t this correlation amazing?! I hope this helped and encouraged you like it did for me. We all have the same 24 hours in the day. It’s the choices we make in those 24 hours that determine how we walk in our destiny. Make sure your conditions are right so that you can live a life of growth & blooming. The world needs your greatness!

“I have seen something else under the sun: The race is not to the swift or the battle to the strong, nor does food come to the wise or wealth to the brilliant or favor to the learned; but time and chance happen to them all.” Ecclesiastes 9:11

Preparing to bloom, Tiffany Jo Baker