Bloom Church by Samantha Daley-Harewood

Perhaps we are all just flowers
Residing in the garden of the most high
Some, just beginning their journey of becoming
Uprooting from the darkness they once lived in
Adjusting their eyes to the sunlight of the new morning mercies
while slowly shedding the ideas and timing the world has pressed upon them
Stepping now, out of the bulbs that once kept them captive,
Trying to deep root into a foundation that not only feeds their hunger but nourishes their soul

Others may have budded already
Anchored into a soil that has restored them
Their stems standing tall in the light for some time now
However, as the seasons change they start to find
the storms of this world have unforgiving winds
And their survival requires a deeper faith than they once thought

A few may be in their summer season
Too excited about the petals and colors of growth
That they forget to take in the waters of humility
Stunting their hydration of wisdom from the wellspring of life

Others in their winter, numb to the sadness that has fallen around them
Questioning their purpose at all
What's a flower amongst the cold and ice? They ask,
Forgetting there is always comfort for the weeping and wilted

In between are those being plucked, or pruned
Acknowledging their dead ends and shedding them
A few are more reluctant than others.
All trying to find ways to stay strong,
and give back to the herbage that surrounds them

How symbolic is the journey of the flower, to the journey of our faith
Both interchangeable in their reminders that everything has a stage of growing and grieving
A visual testament that there must first be a burial before you can bloom.

Samantha Daley-Harewood or (S.C.Daley), is a wife, mother, and kindergarten teacher, but most importantly a follower of Jesus. She has been writing most of her life and loves to share her work with her family and church friends and family. Her goal is to lead people to Christ through poetry. When she isn’t teaching or writing she loves spending quality time with her husband Jonathan and two sons Logan and Peyton.