Bloom Where You’re Planted

June 4, 2019
 
I was driving home one day. I got stopped at a traffic light on Route 10 on that little bridge by Mill Crane Pond. You know the spot? So, I glance out my car window, and I notice the most beautiful flowers – pink and purple impatiens – growing right out of a crack in the blacktop. Somehow, these beautiful, vivid flowers blossomed right out of the middle of that blacktop, with 20,000 cars a day passing within inches, spewing their foul fumes. I thought, That is exactly what God wants me to do – bloom where I’m planted!
 
You may work in a rough work environment. You may be between a rock and a hard place. You may feel like you’ve fallen through the cracks. But don’t let that stop you from blooming. Realize that your environment does not keep you from being happy. Bloom – anyway!
 
Now, I’m sensitive to the fact that for some of you, this is more difficult than for others. You may be battling depression; you may be going through a particularly dark chapter of your life; you may find yourself into a situation that stinks. But you’re still going to have to choose how you’re going to respond to that.
 
That’s what Saint Paul did. Do you know that Paul wrote more than half the New Testament while in prison, often in a tiny stone cell not much bigger than a modern-day bathroom? Some historians believe that raw sewage actually ran right through the dungeon where he was imprisoned. He probably wrote some of the great passages of the New Testament standing in raw sewage that at times came all the way up to his hips. You might say, “Paul was up to his waist in waste!”
Yet Paul wrote amazing faith-filled words like this …
“I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well-fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want. I can do all things through Christ who gives me strength!” (Philippians 4:12-13) Paul, waist deep, said, “Rejoice in the Lord always! I’ll say it again: Rejoice!” (Philippians 4:4)
 
Dare I say it? If you feel like your situation is “crappy” … I’m just saying. Think of Paul! (Gesture to indicate waste deep) Instead of having a pity party and thinking how unfair life is treating you, instead of feeling sorry for yourself, make a decision to bloom where you’re planted. Remember: Even sewage makes good fertilizer. Bloom where you are planted! Don’t worry about the things you can’t change. Bloom – anyway!
You can’t change the traffic in the morning. You can’t fix everybody at work. You may not be where you want to be in life. Here’s the key: Don’t worry about things you can’t change. Be content where you are. Keep a good attitude and keep blossoming right where you are.

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