As I sat on my back porch this morning enjoying the new cool misty weather, I noticed the change in nature around me. It seemed as if all the plants around me were saying....AWE...what a nice reprieve from the stifling heat we are used to. My poor flowers have suffered the most except for one small plant on my deck. As I looked at the flower I thought...now what was different about that plant which allowed it to be able to not only survive but thrive. How did it blossom while everything else around it died? Was it the amount of shade it received? Did it get more sunlight? Did it somehow get more nourishment than other plants around it? Well, I have no idea!! For those of you who know me, I was not blessed with a green thumb. I just put whatever plant I think is pretty in the ground and then tell it..."good luck..you're on your own...I wish you the best of luck!"
However, I do believe that we can learn life lessons from everything around us.
Are you blooming where you have been planted?
Are you striving to thrive instead of just survive?
If we are honest with ourselves, some days are easier to thrive than others. But that is what God intends for us to do. Unlike my poor plants, we can bloom where we are planted because we can TRUST the One who plants us there. We can not only survive but can thrive in the "hot" times of our life, because of His strength in us. Years ago I was just "surviving" through each day. The sweltering heat from that desert time of my life was at sometimes overbearing. Once again, the wise words from my mother saw me through those most difficult days. She reminded me no matter what, there was always something to thank God for. Even when I didn't "feel" like praising Him, that is what He wanted from me in order to break the bondage of the heat of the desert.
That is what is meant in the Bible where it says...God inhabits the praises of His people and we are to give Him the sacrifice of praise! There were days all I could muster up to be thankful for was...Thank you God for the green grass!! But with each day, I slowly began to live in the attitude of gratitude. I went from a wilting weed to a blooming flower.
It's not that my circumstances changed instantly, I just changed the way I reacted to life around me.
Will everyday be sunshine? No.
Will everyday be rain? No.
Will there be desert times in your life?
Most definitely! In those hot, hard, difficult days you can thrive because there is an oasis to draw from there in the desert. It is possible to bloom even in the "hottest" of times.
So, realize that God has placed you, His seed, in good soil right where He wants you.
He will be the sunshine, shade, and nourishment you need, if you choose to...
bloom where you are planted!