“The lotus flower blooms most beautifully from the deepest and thickest mud.” — Buddhist proverb
My column is written this week to encourage myself, and prayerfully, it will encourage others out there in Washington Informer readership land! Many of us have experienced severe challenges in our lives, nothing like the billionaires among us in the United States and worldwide. Even Jeffrey Epstein, who owned an island and homes worth millions, faced a fate his wealth couldn’t prevent when he killed himself to escape prison. His riches offered no protection when confronted with his demons.
In this week’s column, let’s think about how deep we find ourselves in the troubles of this world. We lose our jobs, and suddenly everything is different. Right here in the DMV, with major federal government cuts, thousands of folk were laid off or fired from their so-called “good government jobs!” Every waking moment, you’re thinking about how happy you once were, continuously praying to find that happiness again with a new job.
I remember when my husband moved our family from California’s Bay Area — Oakland, San Pablo and San Francisco — down to Los Angeles. It was truly hard for my family, my husband and three young children. After being terminated from his position as a train operator with Bay Area Rapid Transit Authority (BART) following an accident, he took a downgraded job as a security officer. Here we were without our main breadwinner, finding ways to make do until he could return to his real work.
For me, it looked like I would never get another job! Interview after interview, still no callbacks; I felt stuck in the thickest of mud. At my previous job back in the Bay Area, I was a supervisor in the Nursing Administration Office of Children’s Hospital Medical Center and had great work history. They loved me there and gave me promotion after promotion, yet interview after interview yielded no job offers.
Nothing came through for me until one day, after weeks of going to the hospital chapel to pray for guidance. A word from the Lord came clearly; I was to pack up my children, put what I could in the car and move back to Washington, D.C., to make a brand-new start. I did it, and it worked very well for me.
Like the lotus flower, my inner flower began to bloom! Those of you who know my story know the success my sisters and I achieved here in Washington, D.C. What is the lotus flower? Let me tell you a bit about it so you can see why my circumstances did not destroy me. Each day, I found myself growing stronger.
The lotus is a colorful blooming flower with a life cycle unlike any other. With its roots based in mud, it submerges every night into murky river water, and undeterred by its dirty environment, it miraculously reblooms the next morning without residue on its petals.
The lotus continues to stun people with its ability to dip into the grime and revive itself unscathed — an incredible daily cycle of life, death and a sudden immaculate rebirth that can only be described as spiritual. It is no wonder the lotus is associated with such celestial symbolism; the flower simply defies logic.
How has the flower acquired such all-encompassing spiritual significance? The lotus flower’s daily resurrection is certainly interesting and surely symbolic of revival. (It is truly a perfect gift for anyone recovering from illness.) The flower also has a fascinating will to live, a seed that can withstand thousands of years without water, then germinate centuries later — remarkable!
It blooms in the most unlikely of places; the mud of murky river water in Australia or Southern Asia becomes its sanctuary. But due to the waxy protection layer on its petals, its beauty is blithely unaffected when it reblooms each morning. It continues to resurrect itself, coming back just as beautiful as it was last seen. With such refusal to accept defeat, it’s almost impossible not to associate this flower with unwavering faith.
In conclusion, each of us grows to become our best after having experienced a muddy life. Those negative instances helped to shape you into the marvelous soul you have become today! Amen!
Lyndia Grant is a speaker/writer living in the D.C. area. Her radio show, “Think on These Things,” airs Fridays at 6 p.m. on 1340 AM (WYCB), a Radio One station. To reach Grant, go to her website, www.lyndiagrant.com, email lyndiagrantshowdc@gmail.com or call 240-602-6295. Follow her on X @LyndiaGrant and on Facebook.
