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  • Writer's pictureabbyarend

learning to soar. part four.

We have finally made it to the last letter in soar. The last part in this three month long series. I did not plan on this taking me so long to work through. But God always reveals things to me in His perfect timing. And I haven’t wanted to force a blog post when my heart wasn’t ready.


The last and final word we are going to dig into is radiate.


The first thing that always comes to mind when I think of the word radiate is a flower. If you know me, I absolutely love flowers. Specifically sunflowers. I adore them. And I am inspired by them.

Flowers start as a seed, we all pretty much know that. They begin by being buried in the ground. They are planted deep into soil. This is where it finds its roots. This seed is placed in darkness in order to root itself on solid ground. But it takes time for it to grow and reach the surface. Once it does, it still isn’t a flower yet. There has to be rain. There has to be sunlight. There has to be a balance of the two. Too much rain, causes the flower to wilt. Too much sunlight causes the flower to wither. But just the right balance causes the flower to flourish.


Now I did bring up sunflowers earlier for a reason, not just because they are my favorite flower. Sunflowers have a tendency to track the sun. They literally turn and face the sun as it rises and as it sets. No matter where it is, the sunflower will face it. Rain or shine it will find where its light is coming from and fully face it. How beautiful is that?

Now how does this apply to the nineteen year old human being behind this screen that is indeed not a flower.


I am so glad you asked!


Have you ever felt buried? Me too.

Have you ever felt like you were surrounded by nothing but darkness? Me too.

Have you ever felt like you were in the dirt, maybe even literally? Same.

Have you ever experienced a storm, a rainfall so heavy you can’t see straight anymore? I wish I could put the little emoji girl with her hand up, because same.

Have you ever walked through a drought, a time where nothing seems to be coming your way and you are just exhausted? Because me stinking too.


Now let me ask you this. Have you ever thought maybe you weren’t buried to stay under, but rather to grow stronger and wiser? Or that maybe the excessive rain wasn’t sent your way to drown you but to teach you how to swim? I know for me, in the midst of my darkest seasons it is almost impossible for me to see how any of it will be worth something. But that is where I am wrong because ALL of it is worth something.

All of the rain, all of the tears and sorrow and sleepless nights are worth something. And all of the laughter and joy and light are worth something too.


To radiate my friends, means turning and facing the Light, turning and facing the Lord even when we don’t want to, even when we don’t feel like it. To radiate is to be buried but to root ourselves in Truth, in His truth. It is to endure seasons of rain, endure seasons of drought knowing full well that beauty comes from darkness. It is to trust in the season God has you in and to always face His way. It is to embody strength, to pour out optimism, and to choose authenticity every single day.


To radiate means to fully soar.


xoxo, abbs


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