February 12, 2025

Reflorecer.

For those of you that speak more than one language, I bet you’ve had an experience where you find a word that sums up what you want to say but it isn’t completely translatable. At least not without using a lot more words. Well that’s what I found in ‘reflorecer’. It is a beautiful word in Spanish. It means to flower again. To bring something back to what it once was.

Almost 10 years ago, I moved with my family to a new home (one of the many moves we have undertaken). It was a complete change and I didn’t feel sure about it. There was a small plant right next to the house that I noticed right from the beginning. It looked like it should have flowers, but it wasn’t growing any. As the months went by, the plant still didn’t flower. I came to connect with that little plant. I was alive, just as the plant was, but I wasn’t flowering either.

Never before had I made such a connection with a plant. I regularly checked the plant for flowers. One day, many months later, there it was–a flower starting to bloom. A pretty, purple flower. And in God’s kindness, he allowed me to start blooming again at the same time. It felt like the plant and I were totally in sync. That experience gave me so much hope and I remember it whenever I am feeling like that little plant and for some reason I am not flowering.

There are so many patterns that God created in plants. When we look, we realize that God created similar patterns in us. We need the right conditions for growth as well. And yes, people can flower again too! Sometimes like me, we have physically moved somewhere new. Just like plants, we need time to adjust to the new soil before we can flower again.

Sometimes we are just in a different phase of life than we used to be. Insert motherhood here. When you become a mother, everything changes. You go from worrying about yourself to having others who depend on you for everything, and so much of what you used to do is not happening. You love your kids deeply, but you realize after a time that you don’t really know who you are anymore. What do you even like? If you had time to yourself, what would you choose to do? Does what you want even matter? Would you even stay awake long enough to figure it out?

So many of us have found ourselves in this place, or are even in that place right now. Just like that little plant I connected with, we are alive, but are not blooming. But there is hope for us to bloom again.

Reflorecer also has another meaning. It means to flourish again. I love that word–flourish. There is so much involved in flourishing. Just like being alive without flowering, we can be alive without flourishing. We can be going through the motions of life without feeling freedom, joy, peace, etc. What would your life look like and feel like if you were indeed flourishing?

One of my favorite verses is Isaiah 40:31. It says: “But those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint.” As a mom I have had to come back to this verse time and time again. Soaring on wings like eagles sounds amazing, doesn’t it? And running without growing weary? Now that sounds like flourishing.

The bottom line is that motherhood is tough. For all of us. We are never fully prepared for any of the stages of life our children will pass through. Or for all the stages we will pass through. We need God’s help on a daily (no I mean hourly, or minutely) basis. We also need each other. God didn’t put us here alone and that’s because we need each other. We need support and encouragement. We need others who understand.

As a mom, I had the blessing of being able to be part of a Bible study/support group at a church for a few years. I was part of a small group of about 10 moms with young children. There I found support, encouragement, guidance, accountability, and understanding. We could talk about whatever was going on in our lives without judgment and find others who would listen, support, and pray for us. And for the last 2 years, I had an amazing leader who God used to minister to me and help me through some really hard things. She was always encouraging us and reminding us of the important role we play as moms. She also wouldn’t hesitate to put us all in our place when we needed it. (Thank you Laraine!) I hope everyone can have an experience like this at some point in their lives.

That group–that experience–has been my drive behind becoming a coach. I truly believe God led me to coaching. He put the phrase “life coach for moms” in my head when I didn’t even know what a coach was. Once I understood and was trained, I was thrilled with that calling! I want to be for moms what that group was for me. I want to offer support, encouragement, understanding, and even accountability when necessary. I want to help moms get back to flowering and flourishing.

I have been a mom for almost 17 years (I can’t believe my baby is almost 17!!). And I have 6 kids. 4 are biological and 2 are adopted. We have also done foster care and spent many years living and working at orphanages. I have been through almost all experiences of motherhood and have been stretched and grown and stretched some more, and then stretched some more (actually sometimes it felt more like ripping than stretching). If any of you have ever doubted your abilities/patience/strength, I guarantee, I have too. If any of you have wondered why God seems to have so much faith in you, I have too. If any of you have wanted to give up, I have too. Don’t convince yourself that having 6 kids makes me some sort of supermom. That doesn’t exist. I remember wanting to pull my hair out when I had just one. Our struggles are similar no matter how many kids we have. Our journey as a mom is similar.

You aren’t alone. If you get nothing else out of my ramblings, I hope you hear that. You have God who offers you so much love, unlimited strength, and forgiveness for when you don’t get it right (thank you God!). He sees you right where you are, in whatever state you are in. There are also so many moms out in the world that understand. I do.

And that is exactly why I chose the name Reflorecer. Motherhood, and life in general, can be so hard that we stop flowering. But we can flower again. We can flourish again. There is hope.

Even you. Yes, you. You can flower again too.

Why Reflorecer?

A confession…