Lily of the Valley
If I said to you, “It’s okay to bloom in the valley,” I sincerely hope you would consider it. There is this well-known phrase that people often say, “Bloom where you are planted.” The meaning encourages us to thrive and choose joy in any circumstance. It is forging ahead with the mindset of making the most out of life despite the difficulties and/or tragedies. Blooming, we all know, is a critical phenomenon that happens in every life cycle. We see this through adolescents, the wombs of mothers, and, of course, we capture this glory with flowers and plants. Blooming is a significant sign of maturing and development. If we consider flourishing through tough times, it means we choose persistence in the face of setbacks. Therefore, we can bloom where we are planted and be beautiful as a Lily in the tragedies of our valleys.
The Lily of the Valley (Convallaria majalis) is a traditional flower often found in wedding bouquets. It signifies purity, divine beauty, and God's provision. It’s often associated with themes surrounding humility and growth. I find it metaphorically ironic that something as beautiful as a Lily is celebrated for its elegant appearance and fragrance, yet its natural habitat is a valley. Valleys are the perfect conditions for Lilies to grow because they thrive in cool, shaded areas. However, when you think about valleys, you think about how they represent the lows of life. The valley experience is where character is built and proven. It’s a place where struggle and refining happen. The real-life grind or testing and suffering tends to happen in the valleys of life. Completely opposite of the mountaintop experience. Where the mountain illustrates peak moments, the beauty of life, and the breakthrough of finally accomplishing a goal. It would appear that the beautiful high peak mountain top should at least have the beautiful blooming Lily.
One of the greatest lessons in living is that we don’t need the mountain top experience to let us know we are thriving and blooming. The scriptures tell us in James to count it all joy when we fall into various trials. It reads on to say, “knowing that the testing of your faith produces patience. But let patience have its perfect work, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking nothing.” (James 1:1-2) It’s the valleys that test our faith, and it’s the valleys that essentially produce what we need to continue to blossom. Our growth, maturity of character, and our dependency on God are the true factors that tell us we are thriving and we are well. These factors demonstrate that patience is tilling the perfect work within us. No, we don’t love suffering, but it can build deep resilience in the person open to growing through it.
TO THE READER
Low moments of life aren’t ideal for anyone, but these moments serves us in many profound ways. Consider the Lilies that grow in valleys. The low conditions nourish and produce the best blooming results. No, Lilies aren’t going through harsh conditions to be the elegant flower and produce a sweet fragrance, but the conditions are ideal to produce what is necessary for a Lily to be a Lily. Your conditions and circumstances may be harsh. You may experience insecurity, hardships, hurt, or unfavorable situations, but God is still rooting for you to become who you were always made to be. Despite the valley you are in for the season. Even in challenging situations, you can still emerge with elegance and grace. You can radiate a delightful essence of pleasure and purpose, rather than bitterness and animosity towards the world around you. Let the experiences that were meant to hurt you become avenues to gain wisdom, strength, courage, and beauty. Amongst pain and sickness, a deep revelation of purpose can come. Amongst disconnect and separation, an abundance of new things can be your next portion.
I’ll leave you with these sets of truths. No matter the situation, you can grow to be as beautiful as the Lily in your valleys of hardships. You can resemble something so beautiful that came from the trenches of circumstance. We don’t have to be the insecurity that blinds us. We don’t have to be the gossip that hurts us. We don’t have to be the sickness that tries to cripple us. In essence, we don’t have to become the valley that surrounds us.
Here’s the greater truth: If you let Jesus be your Lily, He will be who He has always been. The Way, the Truth, and the Life. The Lily of the Valley. The Bright and Morning Star. He can be the way out and the way through valleys of testing. He’ll be the sweetest fragrance of a terrible season. He’ll be the rod and staff that comforts as we walk through the valleys of the shadow of death. He’ll be the Lily of your insecurities and the Lily of your doubt.
HE WILL ALWAYS BE THE LIGHT AMONGST DARKNESS.
FOREVER, THE LILY.
FOREVER, THE GREATEST.
FOREVER, HE.
Love, Kevonna
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