It was the end of service.
The sound of worship filled the sanctuary, and people were in a moment with God.
People all over were at different moments with God.
I could feel everyone in their own place.....reconciling, forgiving, trusting again, hoping again, surrendering.....Wherever "their" place was....they were there.
I stood on the bottom step of the platform, eyes closed, in my own moment.
I was right there in a room full of people, alone with God for enough time to hear him speak the words to me: "NOW is the season for LATE BLOOMERS."
The words settled deep into my spirit.
I stood for a moment waiting to see if it were something that God wanted me to release to our congregation.
I did not feel that it was.
So I took the word home with me.
Over the last four days I've meditated on what God spoke, visiting it with him in my thoughts to see if he wanted to add to it or give more definition.
And He has.
As I cleaned up the kitchen, folded laundry, and fussed at my kids about their showers, God began to speak to me so gently about LATE BLOOMERS.
If you're asking how God can speak to me with all that going on....... Let me just tell you: I've learned that God is a domesticated God. Years ago he started piping up talking to me while I was mopping, doing dishes, vacuuming, and everything else.
I think he knows that I feel the most at peace doing domestic duties.
And he finds our time of settling to pick up conversation with us.
Wikipedia defines the phrase LATE BLOOMER as such:
"A late bloomer is a person whose talents or capabilities are not visible to others until later than usual. The term is used metaphorically to describe a child or adolescent who develops slower than others in their age group, but eventually catches up and in some cases overtakes their peers, or an adult whose talent or genius in a particular field only appears later in life than is normal – in some cases only in old age."
But as God spoke to me tonight, He told me this:
"Late Bloomers to you are in a different time with me."
We believe that we're arriving late.
But in God, we are right at the designated time.
Many of us believe that we are entering into things "late", "too late", or not at all.
Many of us have watched our 5, 10, and 20 year plans go nothing like we planned, leaving us scrambling to pivot into other options that, if we're honest with ourselves, feel like us settling.
We've watched opportunities slip through our fingers.
We've messed up things, leaving no one to blame but ourselves. And this type of regret is worse than condemnation. It always feels better to blame someone else, even if nothing changes. We can usually still get sleep and live with ourselves.
But when it's your own fault.....MAN.
Some were not given fair chances.
We didn't have the advantage that others had.
We were robbed.
Framed.
Mistreated.
Lied to.
Manipulated.
Controlled.
Misinformed.
And simply BEHIND.
We feel BEHIND.
But God is saying we're actually right on time.
I read the story of Abraham and Sarah for the 15 zillionth time last night.
God has had me there for the last 4 months.
I can see the clear message of pre-meditated earthly delay to fit a heavenly agenda.
Time and seasons matter to God.
They all support HIS purpose.
Our life goals matter to Him. But when you say "YES", and mean it, prepare for the surprise that your goals and plans may fit a different timeframe that will require GREAT adjustment, and GREAT bewilderment.
And sometimes you don't learn that it was REALLY what you wanted until you BLOOM into the reality that it was also what you needed to really be who you are.
Today I want to speak to your angst, frustration, tears, and fears.
God said that NOW is the time of the LATE BLOOMER.
I see many that feel forgotten, behind, and those that have given up dreams coming into a revelation that NOW is actually the time that you thought had long went away never to return.
God is bringing you into a moment of fulfillment that required YEARS of preparation.....even when you did not know the depths of what you were being prepared for.
You've been humbled.
You've been broken.
Motives and Agendas have been retired.
You are now ready to see and pick up His.
And dreams that you let go of will either be revived, or replaced with something greater than what you thought would have been everything if you could have just obtained it.
Late Blooming is actually God's best.
The promise of our latter being greater should be the reality of every believer. (Job 8:7, Haggai 2:9)
In him, every new year and season should bring about a better US and better reality of HIM.
There is no decline in him, only escalation.
Coming into the beauty of late blooming with God is the promise of greater fulfillment.
I hope that you are ready.
I hope that you believe.
It's such a special time.
Flowers that grow late took the most time to develop their beauty.
Shaunee Brannan
