Yoder: The More I See: Blooming with God’s Love
By Kathy Yoder
This spring, the apple trees are blooming with a beauty I’ve never noticed before. White and fuchsia blossoms are bursting in splendor. The more I see, the more I see. One tree caught my eye, and suddenly, they were everywhere, as if they’d been waiting for me to notice. They were there all along, of course, hidden in plain sight.
People bloom like that, too. A young person, once a small child in our memories, steps forward as a graduate, their dreams in full flower. Others, like our mothers, bloom quietly. I think of my mom, always there with a listening ear or a warm meal, her love steady as a tree’s roots. We bask in that love until winter comes (an illness, a loss) and we ache for the springtime moments we overlooked.
I’m thankful for my mother. I’m thankful that I still have her. Over the years, she’s become more than my mother; she’s become my cherished friend. Her quiet love opened my eyes to other blooms—people who, like mothers, nurture us in ways we often overlook.
People whom I’ve seen as part of the landscape, but when I’ve sat down with them, I’ve found a caring person with a gentle smile and kind spirit. Often like a tree blooming in its own time, they had been there all along, I just hadn’t paused to see them.
Years ago, pregnant with my son, I asked a mom of three what she did when all her kids had the flu. “You suffer,” she said, matter-of-factly. Good mothers bloom through suffering, their love unnoticed in the daily grind, yet steadfast as a tree weathering a storm.
Mothers deserve honor every day, not just on Mother’s Day. Even Jesus, in His final moments on the cross, showed this. Seeing His mother, Mary, He entrusted her care to His beloved disciple, John.
“So Jesus seeing His mother, and the disciple whom He loved (esteemed) standing near, said to His mother, ‘[Dear] woman, look, [here is] your son!’ Then He said to the disciple (John), ‘Look! [here is] your mother [protect and provide for her]!’ From that hour the disciple took her into his own home” (John 19:26-27 AMP).
Like Mary, Hannah bloomed through faith, praying fervently for her son, Samuel, and dedicating him to God’s service (1 Samuel 1:27-28). Her quiet trust inspires us all.
What about those who don’t know their mothers, or whose moms couldn’t be there for them? I pray they find love in unexpected places. A dad braiding his daughter’s hair, a teacher cheering at a graduation, a friend’s mom offering a warm hug. These are the blooms of God’s family, growing where we least expect.
I pray that those struggling to have their own children will ask the Lord to walk with them through this hard journey. They may feel as if no one understands, but He does. He knows what they are walking through. He knows their disappointments, their feelings, their struggles. I pray that they will receive the gift of a family, whatever that may look like. And I pray that their family will be one built on love for one another and built on the love of God.
I pray that all of us know the truth that David points out in Psalm 27:10. “Even if my father and mother abandon me, the LORD will hold me close.”
For all of us, I pray we find the strength to bloom in every season—through joy, through sorrow, through the ordinary moments of life. May God open our eyes to His love, blooming all around us, and help us grow deep roots in His grace.
The more I see God’s love, the more I see it. Blooming in apple trees, in mothers, in unexpected families, in the stubborn wildflower pushing through cracked pavement. This Mother’s Day, let’s look closer, noticing the quiet blooms around us. Let’s honor them with a simple act. A note of thanks, a shared coffee, a moment to listen to their stories. Who is a quiet bloom in your life you can thank this Mother’s Day?
May we thank God for them, and may we, too, bloom where we’re planted, rooted in His love.
“But blessed are those who trust in the LORD and have made the LORD their hope and confidence. They are like trees planted along a riverbank, with roots that reach deep into the water. Such trees are not bothered by the heat or worried by long months of drought. Their leaves stay green, and they never stop producing fruit” (Jeremiah 17:7-8).
Happy Mother’s Day!
Kathy Yoder is a devotional writer. She’s reachable at kathyyoder4@gmail.com and kathyyoder.com.
