Moving Pansies with Guest Writer Beth Fortune

I met Beth Fortune at a writers’ group several years ago and am delighted to share an excerpt from her debut devotional The Potting Bench released April 13. Scroll down to read more about Beth and a link to her beautiful book.

The steps of a good man are ordered by the Lord,  And He delights in his way. Psalm 37:23 (NKJV)

There are many plants I consider happy plants, like sunflowers. The beautiful yellow petals surround a brown disc full of seeds that feed birds and people. Then there are pansies and violas that can brighten up even the coldest of days in the winter.

Winter—cool seasons—that’s when pansies thrive. They’re considered cool-season plants and can’t tolerate heat at all. When the shadows begin to lengthen and the temperatures get cooler, that’s when the garden center’s parking lots will once again fill up as gardeners, who have been waiting for this moment, are pulling their wagons and filling them up with these colorful plants, along with mums and fall vegetables.

For a few months, these lovely green plants, in a variety of colors, grace containers, window boxes, and flower beds. But then it happens, winter becomes spring, and the temperatures get warmer as spring moves into summer. And the pansies give out and need to be pulled up, so other flowers can be planted for the summer.

As a gardener and pansies lover, this is a hard time for me because I don’t want to let go of these beauties. I try to hang on to them as long as I can, but no matter how much I water them and remove the spent flowers to keep the plant looking good, I can’t make them into warm-season plants that survive the heat

This makes me think of how many times I’ve tried to be someone I’m not, forced myself into environments I don’t belong in, or resisted moving on when my time at a place was over. For instance, my husband is a pastor. At times, God has moved us from a place where we were content. Just like those pansies that tried to survive in an environment that had changed—from cool season to warm season—the environment would change, or God was ready to do something different with that church or with us. Just like moving my pansies was hard to do to make room for something new, it was hard for us to move.

Has this happened to you? Are you feeling the heat right now? Just like the pansies that I wanted to keep where they were, they didn’t do well, and we don’t do well either if it’s time for us to move on. It could be a church situation like my husband and me, or maybe a job. Maybe it’s a relationship that is becoming difficult, for whatever reason.

Life is full of different seasons, and sometimes God uses our environments to move us from one place to another. We can become so comfortable that it moves us to complacency, and we aren’t being of any effect for God and His Kingdom. Or maybe God is ready to move us to bless us or use us in a way we never imagined.

As I write this, I will soon be removing my stressed and suffering beautiful pansies, which aren’t doing well in this springtime heat wave we are experiencing and making room for other plants. The reds of the geraniums, chartreuse green of creeping jenny, and yellows of marigolds will thrive because they love the heat, and it’s their time to shine.

Let’s not be afraid to move when God is prompting us. He is our Master Gardener, and just like I know when it’s time to move plants in my garden, He knows when it’s time to move us, His children, to a place where we can thrive.

Do you have a lesson to share about God’s prompting or gardening? Or maybe a flower that brings you a smile? 

Beth Fortune is a  Clemson University graduate  with a BS in Ornamental Horticulture. She has worked at a national seed company and at local garden centers, and taught gardening workshops and classes. A photographer, writer, and speaker she loves combining her passion for gardening with Bible truths from God’s Word. Her photography has been featured in garden calendars and is now included in her debut devotional. The Potting Bench

As a writer and speaker, she has over 30 years of ministry experience as a pastor’s wife and Bible teacher.

When she’s not digging in the dirt or in God’s Word, she’s off with her Canon camera photographing gardens, landscapes, and sunrises at the coast. As for digging, one of these requires gloves, and the other doesn’t, but both bring peace, comfort, and the joy of sharing her knowledge with others, You can learn more at her website, Beth Fortune.