Bloom in Any Season

We often think we’ll finally grow, thrive, and walk in purpose when life gets easier—but what if God is growing something in you right now?

In this episode, we talk about what it really looks like to bloom in any season—whether life is good, hard, slow, or not what you expected.

Through biblical examples like Joseph and David, along with real-life stories of faith and perseverance, we share how you can stay rooted, faithful, and full of hope in every season.

If you’ve been feeling stuck or discouraged, this episode will remind you:

You’re not behind.
 God hasn’t forgotten you.
 Something is growing—even if you can’t see it yet.

Transcript

SPEAKER_01 0:00

We're back in April. That's friends on a mission to encourage women through every walk of life. We know that life gets loud, but God's word speaks louder.

SPEAKER_00 0:09

So if you're looking for a space to know more about his love, this is the place for you. Join us and let's get encouraged by the word. Hello everyone. Welcome to Encouraged by the Word podcast. We're your host. I'm April. And I'm Becca. This is episode number nine. It's springtime and we are loving this weather here in Louisiana. Today we're going to talk about how we can bloom in any season. That's our topic for today. Bloom in any season.

SPEAKER_01 0:40

Yeah. So we hear the phrase all the time, bloom where you are planted, and I love that. I think that's a good, good picture. Um, but sometimes we picture that only when life is good, like when God gives us a great job or we get a new house, or you know, we bloom in that situation and we grow.

SPEAKER_00 0:57

Yes, yes, like when everything is just so good. Kids are being perfect in school, uh, the job is going just right, everything in your marriage is just right, your health, everything's together, everything's so easy. Yeah, you know, they get your grocery order right at Walmart, you get there to pick it up and it's everything, everything's falling into place, right? Life is so good.

SPEAKER_01 1:19

Yes. But what if blooming isn't actually dependent on the season being good or everything around you being good? Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 1:28

What if God is actually growing something in us, even when everything feels so hard and out of place? When everything's going so wrong and it's one bad report after the other. Yeah. And things just seem to, you know, you're at the mountaintop and then boom, you're in a valley moment.

SPEAKER_01 1:44

So yeah. So that's what we want to talk to you about today. How can we bloom in any season, any circumstance, no matter what's going on around us, no matter what kind of darts are flying at us? Yeah, how can we bloom in those seasons?

SPEAKER_00 1:56

Yeah, not just when life is good, but when those moments are hard and the unexpected happens, when you're having to wait, you know, what do you do? Even when you you didn't get to choose that season, there are some seasons in life that we're gonna go through where situations happen that we didn't choose that were unfair. Yeah, those things we're gonna talk about that. Uh so let's start with the easy one. We're gonna start at um on the good notes here. Let's let's start with the easy blooming when life is good. Oh I feel like that's so much more easier to do.

SPEAKER_01 2:26

Yes, it is because things are smooth, like you wake up and birds are chirping and your coffee is ready, and you know, the kids are being so sweet, nobody's fighting. You feel so close to God, everything is just working, and you know, you can come in and just be so happy and joyful at right. Because everything's going good.

SPEAKER_00 2:44

Yes, like you know, it doesn't matter that someone cuts you off right now when you're driving. It's fine, let them take lead. Who cares? You know, that person's being so nasty at the drive-thru. It's okay, what's wrong? You know, let's talk about it. Do you want me to come over and just chat with you? It's so easy to be nice in those moments, right? And because it's easy in those moments, it's easier for us to depend on God to restore us with joy and happiness because everything is so good, everything feels so good, and it's easy during that time.

SPEAKER_01 3:13

That's true, that's true. But that's not life all the time, is it? No, yeah, we wish it were, but so let's talk about the really hard one. Yeah, blooming when life is not so good. Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 3:23

Oh, this is tough. It is tough. It is tough. It's tough in its heart, it doesn't feel good, and none of us like to be there. Um, we're gonna talk about um someone in the Bible. We're gonna talk about Joseph. Joseph is a powerful example of blooming in any season, and he particularly bloomed in a hard season, right? Yes, his life went from bad to worse.

SPEAKER_01 3:42

Yeah, he was betrayed by his brothers, he was sold into slavery, yeah, he was falsely accused, he was thrown into prison. I mean, how much worse could this be?

SPEAKER_00 3:51

How many of us would have been like hell of our Christian character with all of that going on? And I can't say that that would have been easy for me at this moment, you know? Yeah. And what I love about Joseph is he didn't wait to bloom like after all of this was over with. Like he went to the palace and he instantly started to bloom in that difficult season that was so unfair to him. Yeah. And that's exactly what we should do. Look at his story and bloom in the hard places.

SPEAKER_01 4:16

He bloomed in the pit, he bloomed in the prison. Like she said, he didn't wait until he was in the palace and everything was in his favor. He bloomed everywhere he every season that he went through.

SPEAKER_00 4:25

Yeah, and because he did that, he stayed faithful. I mean, look at the outcome, you know? And he was able to restore relationships with his family. So the end result was so much bigger than him, right? And so blooming in those tough seasons, it's not just for us, it could be for other people around us as well.

SPEAKER_01 4:41

That's so true. And you know what else? He kept his integrity. And I feel like sometimes when we're going through those really hard times, we're being pressed on every side. It's like, well, I can just tell a little lie to get out of this, God will forgive me. Or I can do something that I know is not right because I just gotta get out of this. But he kept his integrity and it always pays off to do that. Yeah, so you know, God was with Joseph in every season in this story in the Bible. Go read it, it's really, really good. Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 5:06

Now we're gonna bring it up to like now. We're gonna talk about someone I'm sure you guys have heard or have seen um her in the world. We're gonna talk about Joyce Meyer. If you haven't heard of her, go look her up, go listen. She is a powerful woman of God. Here she is, here. But Joy, Joy, she does have lots of joy. Yes, she does. Yeah, Joyce Meyer is a clear example of blooming in the hard season. Uh, she experienced severe abuse while growing up. Tough, right? She struggled with insecurity and identity. We've been there. Um, but what Joyce chose to do was to bloom in those difficult moments. She decided to renew her mind. She went, was intentional, took the word of God, and it transformed her. She began to walk in forgiveness, she began to walk in total freedom. And now look what she's doing. You know, she not only helped herself, she's now helping so many other people around this world with books and videos and presentations, and uh that freedom, like I said, just wasn't for her. But her blooming in that difficult season has helped her and so many others got to do something big uh for so many of us because she chose to bloom in that difficult season.

SPEAKER_01 6:20

That is so good. And you know what? Joyce didn't wait for everything to feel perfect. She chose to walk in the freedom Jesus already paid for. I'm gonna say that again. She didn't wait for everything to feel perfect. Yeah, she chose to walk in the freedom Jesus already paid for. We can do the same thing. He's already paid for it. That's so good. We just have to accept that freedom and walk in it. Yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_00 6:42

And I know a lot of times I think we think we're Christians and the situation's not good, it's supposed to feel good. But if we can't get in our minds, it might not feel good, and that's okay. Because those two can exist at the same time. You can have faith and something not feel so good. That's right. You know, and people are moving forward. Yes, yes. But I just love that so many people have also found freedom through something hard she chose to do. And so when we're faced with a difficult time when we get to bloom in that season, um, not only thinking about ourselves and how our life and our family, our legacy will change, but thinking about others, you know, which is a constant thing that we should do. Think about others, putting others before ourselves. Okay, another hard season we're gonna talk about today. Waiting. In the waiting. What do we do when we have to wait? I don't like to wait all the time.

SPEAKER_01 7:31

I don't either. You know, it seems like nothing's happening. God promised you something, and you see it in your mind, but it's not taking place, you know, month after month. You don't see it happening.

SPEAKER_00 7:40

Yeah. Sometimes um, you might feel overlooked. You might feel overlooked for promotion, you might feel overlooked and unappreciated in your family. What in the world do we do in those moments?

SPEAKER_01 7:52

Well, it makes me think of David. You know, he was anointed king, but then he waited years to actually walk in that calling. You know, he could have given up, he could have said, Well, God forgot about me, but he stayed faithful.

SPEAKER_00 8:04

Yeah, that's so good. I think we probably feel like we should um bloom instantly. Like the bad time happens, we trust God, and then boom. But it doesn't always happen like that, and that's okay, but we get to wait. And in those moments, it might not feel good, but we just have to trust and know that we're growing and God's working out something big in our hearts and in our lives during that time. Yeah, waiting seasons are growing seasons. Yeah, I love that. Waiting seasons are growing seasons.

SPEAKER_01 8:32

Okay, so here's a really hard one we're gonna talk about. Um, the seasons that we didn't choose.

SPEAKER_00 8:39

Like those unexpected things, the unexpected doctor's reports, the unexpected bill that comes in, the unexpected call from the school about your kids and their behavior.

SPEAKER_01 8:49

Yeah. But this is where I think of somebody. Her name is Johnny Erickson Tata. Okay. Um, I don't know if you've ever heard of her, but she is a powerhouse. She was paralyzed at 17 years old after a diving accident, and she faced deep pain. She went through deep depression. She thought, what am I supposed to do with my life? She couldn't use her hands, her legs, she was a quadriplegic. But you know what? She remembered what she learned growing up about God and she chose chose to trust Him. Yeah, she chose to say, Okay, what can I do now with my life? And she founded a ministry called Johnny and Friends, where she provides wheelchairs and supports for other people that need help. She's an author, she's a speaker, she shares hope all over the world. She could have given up, you know, in that time when something happened to her that she didn't choose.

SPEAKER_00 9:36

Yeah, yeah. You know, her whole life changed in one moment.

SPEAKER_01 9:40

Yeah, but she still chose purpose. Yeah. And she still chose joy. That's big. Yeah. We have to choose joy.

SPEAKER_00 9:47

And it's difficult, but I think the more that we get to do that in those moments when it doesn't feel good and we choose joy, I feel like the easier it becomes. At least for me, it does. I don't always get it right the first time. I don't always choose joy the first time, but I had noticed the more intentional I am about trying to choose joy when it's hard, the easier it becomes.

SPEAKER_01 10:06

That's really good, yeah. So, you know, this shows us that we can still bloom in a life that we didn't plan. What does blooming mean? I mean, is it like this big thing that we imagine?

SPEAKER_00 10:16

Uh I don't think so. I don't think it can always look like that. You know, I don't sometimes it could be big, but it could be a small thing. You know, blooming is everyday faithfulness. Yeah. That's right. Whether it's taking care of your family, if it's taking care of responsibilities, um, at your work, extra responsibilities. It could be doing something you've never done before. Walking up to a stranger, that can be hard for some people. That's true. But walking up to a stranger, smiling at someone, you know?

SPEAKER_01 10:48

Yeah. Serving at church.

unknown 10:50

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 10:51

Yeah. That that is blooming. It's not always a big, huge thing, you know, it's not always checking the things off our vision board. Sometimes it's just the simple things. And we have to remember we have to be grateful for all of those things and grateful for what God's doing in our life at every season. And you can look back sometimes and look at those little things and say, wow, that's how I got here to this big thing.

SPEAKER_00 11:11

Yeah, yeah. So now that we've talked about blooming in the hard seasons, blooming in the easy seasons, let's talk about how do we bloom where we're planted. We love practical tips. Yes, we do. Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 11:24

Number one, stay connected to God. I feel like this is always our number one, but He is the source. Um, if you're not connected to the vine, you're never gonna see the fruit. We have to stay connected to the vine.

SPEAKER_00 11:34

Yeah, being faithful in the small things, you know. Working with the little that you have. Don't worry about the size of it, don't worry about anything. Just staying faithful in that moment.

SPEAKER_01 11:45

Watch your attitude.

SPEAKER_00 11:46

Oh, yeah. That's a really good one, you know, and just not running when things get uncomfortable.

SPEAKER_01 11:52

Yeah, that's big. Because I feel like a lot of times, like, oh, this job is getting too tough, I'm gonna quit. Or, you know, I'm gonna leave this church because it's not doing what I want it to do. Stay faithful, stay where you are. Don't run when things get uncomfortable. You know, you think about like flowers. Think about I don't have any here today. I wish I did, but flowers, the beautiful flowers, April puts together beautiful arrangements. But they don't start out beautiful like that, do they? No, they don't. They don't, they start as something small, hidden in the dirt, planted. Nobody can see that, right?

SPEAKER_00 12:23

Right. Dirty. It takes a lot of intentional work to make them uh grow and produce, and the end result is something so beautiful, right?

SPEAKER_01 12:32

That's really good. I feel like that's a word for someone. Just because you don't see anything yet, just because things seem dirty or they seem icky or they seem like they're just not comfortable, yeah, that doesn't mean that nothing is happening in your life. God is working, he's moving, he's for you. God is always for you, he's always working things out for you. And just because you feel buried does not mean you're not being planted. You are being planted. Right now, it might be the season where you're just kind of working through some things and God is working on you and showing you things for your life, but you are about to bloom up and it's gonna be beautiful.

SPEAKER_00 13:09

Yes, yes. So taking that time when you're in a bad season or even in a good season and the unexpected happens, fall tyrannies and ask God, okay, why am I here? What do you want to do through me? What do you want to show me about myself? Or uh that I need to work out. Do you want me to trust you more? Or just guide and lead me in that moment.

SPEAKER_01 13:28

Yeah. So whether you're in a an easy season, a hard season, a waiting season, you can still bloom. Yes.

SPEAKER_00 13:36

Yes. God has not forgotten about you. It might not feel good, um, it might not look good, but we have to know as believers, the end result is always good because our confidence is in him and what he says and what he's promised us. That's really good.

SPEAKER_01 13:53

And something is growing in you even if you can't see it yet. Remember that. Put that in the comments today. Something's growing in me, even if I can't see it. That's really good. That's really good. Yeah. Well, I just want to pray with you, Lord. I thank you so much for these ladies. I thank you that they are blooming in every season, Lord, no matter what is coming at them, that they can bloom, they can have joy, and they know that you are always with them. We love you in Jesus' name.

SPEAKER_00 14:17

And thank you guys for joining us today. And we hope that you all were just encouraged um to share this word with someone else about blooming in any season.

SPEAKER_01 14:28

Yeah. So join us next month. We're gonna talk about Mother's Day. And if you're not a mother, don't leave us. Come join us because we're gonna talk about the importance of being um a good mentor. You know, we can always reach somebody no matter what. Even if you didn't birth a child, yeah, you have the responsibility of pouring into somebody else and leaving that legacy in somebody, encouraging somebody. So we're gonna talk through that next month. Yeah, that's great.

SPEAKER_00 14:55

Awesome message today, blooming in any season. Um, all of our viewers there just know that we love you. We're so thankful for you, and we hope that you are continually encouraged by the word.