…He is like a tree planted by streams of water, which yields its fruit in season and whose leaf does not wither. Whatever he does prospers.- Psalms 1:3

I saw the funniest thing earlier this spring! As I drove by a house, I saw a lovely corner bed with some huge roses blooming in the center. I wondered that they were so big and out so early. On second glance, I saw that they were silk roses and not real ones at all. I thought, “Well I guess that’s one way to have flowers year round.”

Then I wondered, why not? Has God not created one single plant that blooms perpetually? A quick Google search showed only a couple, and they live in the warmer climates. I suppose if my life was constantly lived in a warmer climate, I could “bloom” year round, too, but it’s not.

Right now I’m in a time of transplant and growth. I have moved from the world of college students to that of babies and toddlers. Some days I desperately miss being a full time adjunct professor. Then I felt strong, competent, and in control. Nowadays, I often feel exhausted, incompetent, and out of control.

Then I remembered my first year of teaching four years ago. It was comforting to realize that I felt exactly the same way then! It took several semesters to become that woman who I so long to be now as a mother. This thought gave me comfort. Right now I’m just in a season of growth. I don’t need to “bloom” and “bear fruit” all year round. I can’t. But what I can do is accept where I’m at and quit berating myself for not being who I was pre-motherhood.

I think that’s the key to the last line of Psalms 1:3, “Whatever he does prospers.” When I choose to stress and beat myself up, then I’ll continue to feel like I’m failing, and I’ll wither. If instead I relax and don’t expect myself to always have it together, to always be “blooming,” then I can prosper.