{"id":1094,"date":"2014-03-24T22:48:49","date_gmt":"2014-03-24T22:48:49","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/gooddaysbaddays\/?p=1094"},"modified":"2014-03-24T22:48:49","modified_gmt":"2014-03-24T22:48:49","slug":"blooming-time","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/gooddaysbaddays\/2014\/03\/blooming-time.html","title":{"rendered":"Blooming Time!"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"Photo<\/a>
Photo courtesy of Maureen Pratt\/www.maureenpratt.com<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Not long ago, I posted a picture of my season-challenged Christmas cactus. It had bloomed at, when else, Christmas, but for some reason a few weeks ago began producing buds again! Just in time for…Lent?!<\/p>\n

As sometimes happens with plants, you never know quite what is going to happen. I thought, perhaps, the buds might not open, but still took the opportunity to offer an observation in a blog that it’s never the wrong time to bloom when it comes to life.<\/p>\n

Today, I’m happy to post this picture of my blooming Christmas cactus. We’ve just passed the 3rd Sunday of Lent, and if the buds and blooms are any indication, I might have these beautiful flowers at least until Palm Sunday. Thank you, Lord, for the surprise treat!<\/p>\n

Of course, I have another thought besides the obvious to offer – Just as it’s never too late or too early to blossom with God’s light and love, so, too, it’s never a bad idea to let that light shine as brightly as can be. If it’s Lent and your a Christmas cactus, bloom anyway! If you’re in pain and you feel like sharing support with a friend – do it anyway!<\/p>\n

And if you’re living with a chronic illness that seems to never let up, praise God anyway! That light that you shine in the face of suffering is mighty powerful and can work in ways you might have only begun to understand.<\/p>\n

Blessings for the day,<\/p>\n

Maureen<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Not long ago, I posted a picture of my season-challenged Christmas cactus. It had bloomed at, when else, Christmas, but for some reason a few weeks ago began producing buds again! Just in time for…Lent?! As sometimes happens with plants, you never know quite what is going to happen. 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She expected to be writing scripts. God had other plans. A few years after her graduation, Maureen was diagnosed with a life-threatening case of organ-involved lupus. Her life turned upside down as she grappled with the effects of the illness and other health conditions that ensued. She was no stranger to serious health challenges; even as a child, Maureen had survived numerous bouts of pneumonia, flu, and other infections. But lupus made her take a fresh look at her life goals - and took herlifelong, strong Catholic Christian faith and writing in a direction she'd never imagined. Today, Maureen writes and speaks about walking with the Lord while living with chronic pain and illness. Her most recent book is \"Don't Panic!: How to Keep Going When the Going Gets Tough (Franciscan Media). She is also the author of, \"Peace in the Storm: Meditations on Chronic Pain & Illness\" (Image Books\/Randomhouse), \"Beyond Pain: Job, Jesus, and Joy\" (Twenty-Third Publications), \"The First Year: Hypothyroidism, Second Edition\" (Perseus) and \"Taking Charge of Lupus: How to Manage the Disease and Make the Most of Your LIfe.\" She writes the syndicated column, \"Living Well,\" for Catholic News Service, and has also written for Saint Anthony Messenger Magazine, Journey for Women Magazine, The Upper Room Magazine, LupusNow, and Arthritis Today. Maureen's health continues to be a challenge, however she feels honored to be able to bring her perspective, from experience and knowledge, to others. \"Good Days...Bad Days with Maureen Pratt\" is a new way for Maureen to reach people who carry the burden of illness and pain in their lives, or who care for someone who does. Through the blog, she hopes to bring issues of health, wellness, and spirit into focus and, especially, inspire others that, no matter what health challenges, illness, or hardships they endure, each person can find a good way to realize the wonderful potential God has placed within each heart and soul.","sameAs":["http:\/\/www.maureenpratt.com"],"url":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/gooddaysbaddays\/author\/mpratt"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/gooddaysbaddays\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1094","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/gooddaysbaddays\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/gooddaysbaddays\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/gooddaysbaddays\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/548"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/gooddaysbaddays\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1094"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/gooddaysbaddays\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1094\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1096,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/gooddaysbaddays\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1094\/revisions\/1096"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/gooddaysbaddays\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1094"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/gooddaysbaddays\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1094"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/gooddaysbaddays\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1094"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}