Our flower beds are beautiful this year. I was admiring them one day last week when I noticed a lone pink flower poking through one of our bushes in the rocks off to the side. Getting a closer look, I was surprised to behold exactly what it was. A beautiful poppy.
The seed it originated from came from my mother’s poppies from years ago. Our two young children at the time brought seeds home some from Grandma’s, and sprinkled them everywhere in our flower beds.
This poppy, despite the rocks covering its seed, the bushes overtaking its space, and the ten-or-so years that have passed, was blooming where it was planted.
I smiled at that precious-to-me flower, and thought,
“That’s what God wants us to do. He wants us to bloom where we’re planted.”
Our environment doesn’t have the power to keep us from blooming. You may work around or live near a bunch of “weeds,” but that doesn’t have to stop you from blooming.
The key is to not focus on the weeds, the bushes, the rocks.
Some spend all their time trying to pull up the weeds, or move the rocks. They try to fix everything around them. Try to make people do the right thing. Try to straighten others out. But we have no more power to change people than does that beautiful poppy. Only God can do that.
If somebody wants to be a weed, no matter what you or I do, they are going to be a weed. If we spend all our time and energy trying to change others, it’s going to keep you and me from blooming. From doing what God wants us to do.
You can bloom in the midst of those who are negative and critical. You can put a smile on your face, and be kind and friendly. You can keep a good attitude. You can shine brightly in spite of anything that is going on around you.
Just like the poppy, your job is to bloom.
And so is mine.
Bloom where we’re planted.
It may not be where you or I thought we’d be planted, but nonetheless, it’s where we are.
I always dreamed I’d be planted in a big city with a big home and a corporate job. But God had different plans. He planted me in the “country,” with a lovely, perfect-sized home for our family. He blessed me to care for my family, and with a local part-time job.
I wouldn’t trade this life for anything.
Will you join me in blooming right where you are?
I made you grow like a plant of the field. You grew up and developed and became the most beautiful of jewels.
Ezekiel 16:7
Have a beautiful day, my friend!
Julie
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What a beautiful post, Julie! And a great reminder to bloom where we are planted, because it’s right where God wants us to be and He will make it happen in His time, His will and His way. Always love your words. xoxo, Meredith
Thank you, Meredith. His time, His will, His way. That’s a post in itself! You’re a blessing, friend!
Julie, “bloom where we’re planted” is a term near and dear to my heart. Our family has moved many times over the years and as my kids get older it’s harder for me to get excited about the new adventure. Thanks for this reminder today.
Visiting from Testimony Tuesday 🙂
Hi Sarah! Welcome! I can imagine how you’ve learned to bloom where you’re planted with each move and each new location. I could learn much from you. 🙂 Thanks for stopping by and for sharing. Bless you!
Love this, Julie! It’s so easy to get sidetracked from the place where we are now, wishing and hoping for something else. I have felt that so often. But I know that God has blessings for us wherever we are, even if it’s not our final destination. Thanks for linking up to Testimony Tuesday and for encouraging us to bloom!
Holly, I’m guilty of wishing and hoping for something else, instead of blooming where I’m at. Thankful for all of God’s blessings! As always, I appreciate Testimony Tuesday and for being a small part of the encouragement that happens at your place. You are making a difference! Thank you!
A thought-provoking post, Julie. It made me think about how weeds tend to suck up the nutrients and water away from the good plants. But God provides His good plants with food and water the weeds cannot take in–at least in the believer’s life. It is with this nourishment that we are able to bloom for His glory, in spite of all that’s pressing around us. Love the poppy pic! A great reminder of God’s amazing provision and how His glory is most evident among the weeds of this world.
Hi Sabra! It sounds like you could expand a great post off of mine! Great thoughts today, full to truth and hope! God provides all we need. So glad we share the same saving faith, friend! Thank you for stopping in today. You’re a blessing!
Good idea, Julie. I might just do that!