A while ago I planted some flowers, now my love for plants is a story for another day, but I was going through a difficult time in my life and needed to get my mind off things, so I went back to something I have always loved, gardening. Now that’s the only other thing that competes with my love for books, (Oh, I love books, the way they smell, the feel on my fingers when I flip through the pages, my o my).Anyway, back to my story. So I planted some flowers, many of them actually, but the one I want to speak about is the hibiscus. The hibiscus is a very feminine flower, beautiful and very tender and it’s usually given or worn by women. In North America especially, a hibiscus means a perfect wife or woman.So I happened to have planted two different colors of hibiscus in the same pot, I tended and nurtured them both the same way, as a matter of fact, I named them Carrie and Carren being twins.Within one week of planting, Carren, the pink one, started to bloom and brought forth such beautiful flowers and my greatest joy was to look through my bedroom window daily and behold such beauty.CarrenThen I started to wait for Carrie to bloom, days passed, it has to happen soon I thought to my self. Same plant, same pot, same food, and yet one was blossoming and the other wasn’t. I even spoke to Carrie more than I spoke to Carren (yes, I speak to my plants. and no am not mad).Anyways, as the weeks flew by and months ended and began, I got wary and impatient with Carrie. At a time I even forgot I had co-planted. I looked forward to uploading my lovely Carren on Instagram and Facebook and completely gave up on Carrie.Today, I woke up feeling a bit down and disillusioned about life, that I was not all I felt I could be (don’t blame me, life happens). I was wondering if I have really bloomed as a wife, mother, lawyer, believer and all the other tags we choose to identify ourselves with. I had given my all to my husband and children and kept wondering if I will ever bloom like the many others that I started life who seemed to have blossomed. After all, we are in the same country, confronted by the same issues, why are they like Carren and I, stagnant like Carrie? Too many questions.I looked out of my bedroom window, as usual, expecting to see my Carren in all her beauty, but to my greatest shock, I see something I wasn’t expecting. I rush out still in my nightwear, HD (husband dear) hurrying after me and in the commotion, my children too, all thinking the worst. Outside, just right there, in the very same pot, is Carrie in all her magnificent beauty. She bloomed, finally! But then it dawned on me, there was never a competition between Carrie and Carren.CarrieYes, both are hibiscuses, created to be feminine, beautiful and tender. In some parts of the world, they are even referred to as being one with God, because of their beauty and what they represent. But there was and will never be any competition between them.So I say to every woman, and that includes me by the way, you will bloom, it’s not a cliché or a feel-good statement, no! It’s a fact as sure as morning and night are, you will bloom.When and how is not up to you to decide.Just keep doing what you have to and must do. Tend your home, raise your children. Be intentional about personal and self-development. Never excuse laziness and when you have done all that, remember that one day when the time is right, you will bloom. Just like Carrie, you will have your moment and nothing is more fulfilling than waiting for your appointed time.Through my tears, I took Carrie’s pictures and was reminded again that He makes all things beautiful, in His time.
