Why are wildflowers welcome?
Simply stated, wildflowers are Christian women called to lead but haven’t been raised to realize the fullness of that calling in their lives. In 2017, while my husband worked in south Texas helping the Houston area recover from the effects of Hurricane Harvey, the Lord began to lay it on my heart that women around me needed leadership development. I also started taking a coaching course that fall, and – by what I now believe is the Lord’s design – I signed up for an Executive Coaching Course. Does anyone else see the connection?
The joke was really on me in that season… And yet, it was a very specific YES I gave to God without knowing why—a YES that would inform my ministry decisions, my life goals, and my desire to help God’s daughters rise up, embrace their role, and reign in God’s Kingdom. I’ll share more about this adventure later, but it is an important epilogue to what I will share in this post.
A Prophetic Word
In 2009, my husband and I were selected as leaders to participate in what is called “Leadership Presbytery.” Presbytery is a time set aside when two or three equipped prophets pray over an individual or a couple and speak words they sense the Lord speaking over them in that season. The words are to strengthen, comfort, and build up those who receive them and often speak to identity, destiny, and purpose.
My husband worked on an assignment out of state that fall, so he flew home for the occasion. We made it a date night. I wore a lovely black knee-length dress that was fitted at the waist and came to a tapered end at my knees. I wore my favorite three-strand pearls with antiqued silver roses just below my neckline. My husband dressed in his starched wranglers bunched at his ankles, black boots and a dark plaid shirt in maroon and black. He donned his black felt cowboy hat and reminded me of the man I met 12 years earlier. Can you say SWOON?
We endured a rough patch in our marriage that year. Our season of restoration charted a course right through encouragement that day. I had begun to work for our church that summer. I longed to hear words of affirmation, life, and truth spoken over me that night.
Even still, I remembered that a few years earlier, when I had asked God to give me a word through a trio of prophets who visited our church, I didn’t quite get what I asked for. That particular night, I heard God speak to me as these words came to my mind: “Why do you want them to give you words when I give you words all the time?”
The more recent word He had spoken in that season stung as He said I didn’t really trust Him because I was still worried about being hurt by people. In that moment, it was particularly that I would be hurt by my husband again. I followed Him through that season meditating on scriptures about trusting His unfailing love for me.
As the day approached, I began to pray for my husband to receive a really powerful word from the Lord, and focused less on what might be said of me. By the time the night arrived, I was so focused on what the Lord wanted to say to my husband. I almost forgot I would be receiving a word, too.
We arrived at the church a little early, which, to my husband, meant late. He likes to get there a half hour to an hour early – “just in case” – and for good reason. In my world, five minutes early was early, and five minutes late was just as good as on time.
I felt very proud that we not only looked smashing but also had made it before the appointment began. We parked our pearly white Chevy Impala in a spot near the doors. I straightened my dress as I stepped out of the car and waited for him to join me there. I clasped his hand as we fell in stride toward the door.
We had attended this church for several years, but it felt new. From the lobby, the building had two hallways that branched off left and right. It wrapped around a half-circle auditorium and had stairs that led to the second floor just to the right of the lobby entrance. The staircase stood in a warm beige hall with an elegant golden carpet adorning each step—the rich dark brown wood trim created thick borders to guide our way.
At the top, a slender, tall, blonde woman greeted us. Her short, cropped, curly hair was pinned back on the side with sparkling clips. Her eyes were kind, her smile welcoming. Her name tag read Leah. She waved her hand toward a kiosk so we could sign in for our session, and we made small talk as I tapped out the letters of our last names on the screen in front of me. My husband stood a bit stoic off to the side with one hand shoved into his left front pocket and his left leg pushed forward giving his stance a bit of a lopsided appearance much like his smile.I could feel the tension for my husband as this experience held a big question mark for him – he did not know what to expect.
I turned and smiled at him, “Are you ready?”
He shrugged and stepped toward me before saying, “I guess so.” My heart scootched up a bit higher as I prayed for him. His discomfort radiated through the tight grip on my hand, but I held fast to gratitude. After all, he overcame miles of travel and uncertainty to be with me on this night.
Leah handed us printed name tags to put on our shirts before she led us down the hall to a ministry room holding two large camel-back sofas. We sat down across the room from the door and acknowledged the three women sitting in the chairs to our left and between the sofas.
They asked our names and advised that another couple would join us for the evening. Carin, Tiffany, and Leisa sat quietly, not giving anything away until our entire group was present. Carin sat in the middle, designated our group leader, an older woman with graying blond hair and a twinkle of knowing in her eyes. I sensed she walks big in the presence of God. Her larger-than-life presence softened as she began to speak in quiet, gentle words of inquiry—more small talk.
Tiffany sat to our left. She had long dark hair, deep-set brown eyes, and a slight knowing smile. Her demeanor was quieter, more reserved. I’d heard her testimony at a discipleship class I attended, and that made me feel I knew her.
Leisa, an older, small-framed woman with inviting blue eyes, smiled widely and sat poised on the edge of her seat. I sensed her excitement in the moment and felt a stirring in my own heart.
Craig and his wife, Gail, entered the room and we introduced ourselves all around. Then the words began to flow.
A Warrior Shepherd. A Seer. A Man After God’s Own Heart…
Carin began by giving Scott and I the words she believed God was speaking over us. And to my delight, Scott’s words were amazing. They told him he was a lumberjack in the spirit, wearing red flannel and using his axe to set people free from prisons of briars and thorns. They also said that he was like David, who killed giants, was a righteous king over all Israel, a lover of God and a mighty warrior. She said like David he could tear apart the Lion and the Bear. They identified him as a shepherd, a seer and a warrior in Christ. They ended his with Proverbs 28:1, “The wicked flee when no one pursues, but the righteous are bold as a lion.” (my memory)
A Worshipping, Dancing, Decorating Wildflower Treasure…
When it came to my word, the first thing that Carin said was that I was worshipper. That perked me up a bit because I did love to sing praises to God. But, then she said something that would set me on a journey of discovery I could not quite anticipate in that moment. She said that God calls me His wildflower. She said that one of the things he loved about me was that I loved to dance.
I did love to dance. Two-stepping and three-stepping my way through honky-tonks across Texas in a former life. But never would I attribute that love to my relationship with God. After all I was far from God when I lived in that place.
She went on to say that He spoke Jeremiah 33:3 over me and said that when I call to Him, He answers me and reveals great and mysterious things to me that I did not know.
Tiffany offered her word next, she said that God had given her the scripture that said where your treasure is there your heart will be also… And, then she said, God says you are His treasure. My mind sort of stopped right there. I didn’t make the connection between me being God’s treasure and His heart being with me in that moment. I almost shut down and put the word on the shelf.
Until… Leisa began to speak. She said God called me a spiritual decorator, and she saw me with a basketful of all these colorful scarves and pottery. They represented gifts and talents people carried that they didn’t really know they had. She said I would give them these “gifts” and they would realize their calling and begin to walk in it.
I left elated that Scott had gotten a strong word about who God says He is. But, for me, the defining was less clear. I mean what exactly does it mean to be God’s wildflower? I didn’t quite get it. I struggled with it. But, I saw a connection to the spiritual decorating, and went home to take up my paints and brushes and put those prophetic words we heard on canvas.
I began to paint other people’s prophetic words and things I felt I was hearing from God about. One stroke at time the reality of parts of the words came to life.
What is so special about Wildflowers?
I asked God about it often… Really complaining about it if I am honest. I despised that word.
“Lord, what do you mean I’m a wildflower? I mean, have you really looked at wildflowers? They are missing petals, their stems are bent, and bugs eat holes in their leaves. After all, they really are JUST WEEDS.”
And, as I complained God gave me revelation after revelation about them. Here are just a few things He showed me that year:
1. They grow in multitudes, uncultivated. An individual flower may show the signs of the harsher elements of their existence, but when you put a bunch of them together in a field – they create a beautiful landscape. There are now such a thing as wildflower farms, but these little treasures grow best untended and untouched by human hands.
2. They grow in unlikely circumstances and conditions. Against all odds really, they are resilient. Wildflowers grow out of rocks, in dry and desolate places, and they bloom wherever they are planted.
3. They serve many purposes. They can grow in a field where everyone can enjoy their presence, or they can be plucked up and set in a vase for a house where only a few will see. But, most special is how they can grow on mountaintops where no one may ever see them, for the pleasure of God alone.
4. They lead the way into life-giving seasons. In Texas, our state flower is the Texas Bluebonnet, also known as Lupine or Lupinus texenisis. I’ve seen these beautiful flowers growing along the Texas highways and byways since my early childhood days as my family road-tripped our way across Texas to visit friends and family who lived both near and far away. Texas is a unique place to live, and one of my favorite things to do these days is to take a 5-6 hour drive southwest of my hometown in Granbury, and visit what we lovingly call “The Hill Country.” The landscape is rocky, dotted with Mountain cedars and lots of barbed wire – and in the spring season, around mid-March – lots and lots of wildflowers. Bluebonnets in abundance, the brilliant red we’ve come to know as “Indian Paintbrushes,” and the lovely little yellow flowers called “Brown-Eyed Susans.” They dance in the strong winds of the season and shine brightly with the blazing sun that grows hot as winter gives way to spring. The presence of wildflowers reminds us that the dark, cold days are behind us and the bright, sunny season of new life springing up in our lives has fully come.
4. They reproduce in abundance after their own kind. In Austin, the state capital of Texas, there is a beautiful Wildflower Center maintained as a part of the University of Texas that is named after Texas’ first First Lady. Lady Bird Johnson. Her real name was Claudia Alta, but a nurse maid suggested the nickname of “Lady Bird” when she was a child and it stuck. She became known by that name her entire life – her autograph bearing the endearment, and even used the name “Bird” on her marriage license. The emphasis of her life was on not only beautification, but also showcasing the natural beauty of her homeland of Texas.
According to an 80-something year old volunteer named Helen who led me through the gardens, Lady Bird herself designed the center to not only educate people about the usefulness of wildflowers, but to also showcase their beauty and allow them to grow as naturally and preserve the natural resources in the land committed to the Center’s existence. It was here that I learned the most remarkable thing about my state’s favorite wildflower, the Bluebonnet.
Helen took me to a little bald patch of earth with a few green twigs sticking out of the ground. Next to the twigs was a small placard noting the Lupinus texenisis had been there. She pointed them out and said “These are our Bluebonnets but they are out of season now. Most people think these are perennials because they seem to grow back every year, but really this flower is an annual flower. It only lives one year – it’s entire existence centers around building it’s seed ball.” I later came to know that a seed ball is a small perfectly round sphere of what appears to be dirt, but is in fact thousands of tiny Bluebonnet seeds that will reproduce the next season’s harvest untended. The lifespan of the flower is only a few weeks really, and the entire time it is forming the seed ball and when it’s life is over the ball drops and leaves behind a 1000 fold harvest of new wildflowers as a legacy in its place.
After our tour, I sat at a small table in the courtyard at the visitor’s center and wept over the revelation as I marked out this remarkable story in my journal.
This is how God helped me to truly embrace my identity and calling not only as His Wildflower, but to identify and to raise up a legacy of Wildflower Women called by their God to influence and bring His glorious beauty to every life they touch in their own unique and special way.
ARE YOU A WILDFLOWER?
- As a Christian woman, do you sense the call of God on your life to influence your friends, community, workplace, or even just your family at home?
- Have you struggled to find your way or find mentors to raise you up in Christ’s identity, purpose and calling in life?
- Do you find feel you have a leadership gift that has not been afforded room to grow and be expressed in your native environment?
If you answered yes to any of these questions, we should talk! My joy in life is to come alongside women walking with Jesus and to spur them on in love and good deeds as they EMBRACE their identity, become ENCOURAGED in their passion, EQUIPPED in their purpose, and EMPOWERED in their calling.
