POTS, POTS, AND MORE POTS

Posted on by Karen Condit Posted in Uncategorized

I’ve been looking at a snow-covered, ice-draped world for too long. The hard frozen white is melting, but ever so slowly. It will be a while before trees stop looking like gray stick figures and the ground like dried-out toast.

IMG_3830I need some color in my life!

I head for the garden center. I take my time and pretend I finally won that trip to the tropics.

Pots, pots, and more pots, filled with living, breathing, radiant possibilities! Some just beginning. Some root-bound. All vibrant and alive!

Pot after pot after pot.

six potted plants close up photoMakes me think of all the pots in my life.

I’ve lived in twenty different pots in my forty years of marriage. Some large. Some small. Some old. Some new. Some borrowed. One even blue.

But none for very long.

A few of my pots.

Just when my roots started to grow, I’d be repotted. Sometimes it was a carefully, well-orchestrated transplant. Other times it was unexpected. Some pots were perfect. Others not so much.

Repotting was never easy.

In most cases, my roots eventually took hold and blossoms would come. Some were small and fragile. Some lasted only a season. Others big and bold. But no matter—blooming felt good!

Photo by Secret Garden on Pexels.com

But I didn’t always bloom. And that didn’t feel good.

The framed poster at the end of the hall in my present-day pot says, “Grow where you are planted.” Not the more familiar, “Bloom, where you are planted.”

That’s on purpose.

“You don’t always have to be blooming to be growing,” says Ruth Chou Simons in Gracelaced, Discovering Timeless Truths Through Seasons of the Heart.

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32 seasonal devotionals from artist and author Ruth Chou Simons. The watercolor art and biblical truths are both life-giving.

Sometimes the job isn’t what you thought it would be. The doctor doesn’t have good news, and your best friend is too far away to share a box of Kleenex. Your little shoot isn’t invited to the birthday party.

Blooming just isn’t in the picture.

But in the meantime, there’s some green.

A laugh.

A sunrise out my kitchen window.

Baking cookies with my granddaughter.

A crocus sprouting. (Finally!)

I’m still geting used to my new pot that’s one year and three months old today.

I don’t feel as though I’m blooming right now, but deep down I know I’m growing.

My faith tells me, with God there’s purpose in everything. He’s always working, even in the mundane. There’s more going on than meets the eye.

But when life is mundane, and when you or that little shoot of yours doesn’t seem to be blooming, keep watering. Watch for new life. Celebrate the green.

In time, the blooms will come!

Here are a few books to share with that special child in your life while waiting for the blooms.

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There’s a lot of waiting in childhood. Can we be patient enough to wait? (Ages 4-8)
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Some books just won’t go away—rightfully so! This 1945 gem keeps sprouting up when you need a story to see that all good things come in time. (Ages 4-8)
The-Very-Impatient-Caterpillar
This laugh-out-loud story will make practicing patience a little easier. Learn some facts about the necessary growing required before something beautiful can emerge. (Ages 4-8)
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Just released in March by best-selling author, Mo Willems. Everything that happens, no matter how mundane, orchestrates new beginnings. (Ages 5-7)
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Opening: The big gray van pulled away from the curb, moved slowly down the street, and disappeared around the corner. Now it was quiet, and there he was, where he really didin’t want to be. (Ages 6-10)
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A gentle read to help a child share their feelings about change. The short text makes room for thoughtful conversation. (Ages 3-6)
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A great Mother’s Day gift for those that hold their child and dream. A book that celebrates the simple but precious wonders of growing.

And after all that reading, try this simple PBS hands-on project with your child. It’s an easy way to plant the seeds you’ll see blooming this summer!

variety of green plants

And by the way . . .

I did come home with a little green for my home . . . and some color, too!

Here’s to the green in your life, and the color that’s yet to come!

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26 thoughts on “POTS, POTS, AND MORE POTS”

  3. Reply
    Elaine Tomski says:

    I love the idea of growing rather than blooming where I’m planted, Karen. Thanks for your encouraging blog. Waiting by Kevin Henkes is genius. I wish I’d thought of it. ☺️🤗❤️

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  5. Reply
    Nancy Brewer says:

    Karen, this is my favorite of your blogs. Probably because I could so identity with all the pots that I have had in my own life which caused it to hit a nerve in me. I thank God for every one of those moves because He used them to make me a better child of His, a better wife, a better mother and a better friend. So here’s to growing where we are planted. Love you, friend.

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    1. Reply
      Karen Condit says:

      Yes, we share a lot in this regard, Nancy. Nothing’s ever wasted. I appreciate your positive outlook and I, too, am not the same because of my uprooting. Here’s to all the growing we have left to do!

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    2. Reply
      Janet Jacobson says:

      Thanks for friending me and sharing your blog. It is wonderful. As someone with many pots…plant and homes, it really touched me. Speaking of your old pot, it is getting green, the flowers are starting to bloom, and we miss you.

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  6. Reply
    Darcie says:

    Dear Karen, thanks for sharing your perspective on pots. Yes , you sure have had a lot of different ones which have helped you to grow as a Mom , and Grandmom and my dear friend. Miss you very much.❤️

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  10. Reply
    Barb Ziemke says:

    Thank you, Karen! Without leaving my chair, I feel like I took a lovely and leisurely trip to the library with a stop at the garden center along the way. Your beautiful thoughts, words and images brought this Bible verse to my mind: “…whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable–if anything is excellent or praiseworthy–think about such things.” Phil 4:8

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  12. Reply
    Sally House says:

    Thanks Karen. Miss getting together and listening to your insight. I love this thought of our various pots that we have lived in. I have not has as many of them as you, but with each God has done a work and drawn me closer. Often this happens in slow deliberate ways and it is only as i look back that I see His hand. So thsnkfuk for His faithfulness with us. Excited to see what new growing season is ahead for me and to bloom revealing His love to those I meet. Keep on Blogging!!! I love it. It is almost as good as a real time visit! Almost but not quite!

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    1. Reply
      Karen Condit says:

      Thanks, Sally, for your kind words and thoughts. Sometimes I think it is in the uncomfortable that we grow best. I just planted some perenials and had to take them out of their pots. This pot analogy came back to me. I think I talk to my potted plants more than ever before: It will be okay. Don’t worry. You’ll like this new pot in time. Be brave! My own kind of therapy! Friends are still better. 🙂

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