Bloom Where You’re Planted

 

My backyard is my refuge— the one place I can go and completely unplug and relax. I listen to the babbling water of our little pond and can just be one with nature while thinking through the past week, reading a book or even leisurely sweeping up the leaves on the patio. I love it back there and spend as much time as possible enjoying the calm atmosphere. (In fact, I’m back here right now watching the rain.)

My husband contributes greatly to the serene beauty in the backyard, cutting back overgrown shrubbery and planting flowers in big pots that are now all over the space, adding color and an environment that naturally attracts hummingbirds and butterflies. It really is remarkable.

This summer something interesting happened, though, that created even more beauty. Large clumps of vinca (flowers) started growing in the ground around the palm tree and in other even more interesting spaces. And the thing is, we didn’t plant them. The hubby always adds vinca to potted plants, but has never planted them in the ground. In fact, the colors of the vinca growing from the earth aren’t even the colors he planted this year. So presumably, somehow the seeds of vinca from past years’ potted plants were blown into the dirt and a whole year (or more!) later, started to produce these gorgeous plants. 

There’s even one such plant growing out of a crack in the cement. I’m at a loss. 

But every time I see them, the phrase “bloom where you’re planted” comes to mind.

It’s a phrase I’ve heard all of my adult life. And I’ve always understood it to mean that wherever life takes you and whatever situation you find yourself in, embrace the opportunity to do your best so that you can be a blessing to those you come in contact with. It’s a lovely reminder that you cannot always control your circumstances, but you can control your attitude and your actions.The way we react to a situation says more about our character than any words do, and it is the one thing in our power to control, and if necessary, to change. So when we find ourselves in a situation that we don’t like, it would be easy — and human — to complain, fight against it or give up. But those responses do nothing for our own hearts, minds and souls except to further our feelings of woe.

Instead, we should see the blessing in every challenge and look at it as an opportunity to learn something new. It’s much easier said than done. A bad attitude and negative mindset are habits, and it takes months to change a habit. But my understanding is that the first place to start is to “act as if” you have a good attitude and make yourself see the positive in any given situation. Emulate a person with a positive mindset. Take a moment throughout your day to write down a few things for which you’re grateful. (Or if you’re really down or going through a tough season, just write down one thing and build up to two or three.) The more you “act as if,” the more you’ll transform your thinking and actually become a person who can see the good in bad situations.

Another way to do this is to encourage others. If you notice something you admire about someone, tell her. If you have a friend who is always there for you, write him a thank you note to tell him how much he means to you. If someone you know is feeling blue, offer a listening ear or simply provide the ministry of presence. Sometimes just being there for someone is encouragement enough.Though our transformation, we will bless those around us. 

My daughter is the perfect example of this. She brightens every room she walks into and makes those around her feel better just by being near them. She isn’t perfect — she is human, after all — and she has bad days, too. But she has always bloomed where she was planted, creating beauty and goodness from even the most desolate of situations.

I truly believe that God puts us exactly where we are meant to be. Even when we make bad decisions or find ourselves in unpleasant or daunting situations he can turn it around for good. So it is our job to grow and bloom. In the words of the great C.S. Lewis, “You can’t go back and change the beginning.  But you can start where you are and change the ending.” 

It is an amazing thing that God has done with these vinca in my backyard, creating beauty where there was only dirt. And it’s fascinating that the flowers HE planted are still thriving, while the ones we planted are starting to fade. We played no role in planting them, had no control over it whatsoever - we hardly even watered them! But they bloomed and have provided a rainbow of beauty for us to enjoy all summer long. 

So, in my life and during even the worst of seasons, I will do my best — having faith that I am right where I’m supposed to be — to bloom.