My favorite item in my grandparents’ old house was a small, framed painting of the words, “Bloom Where You’re Planted.” The painting resided on the nightstand in the room where I stayed when I visited, and its words were the ideal by which I wanted to live my life.
Later on, however, when I found myself in circumstances that didn’t measure up to my dreams, that lovely saying was all but forgotten.
I’ve always had an escapist mentality. No matter where I am, if something is even a little bit wrong, I go into panic mode and look for a way out.
I’ve been this way since I was a child. My cousins will never let me forget the time I melted down in the middle of a theme park because I missed my parents and just wanted to call my mom.
I also got so homesick at two different camps that I made everyone around me miserable. I called home so often, that my parents told my counselors to ban me from the phone.
On the latter two occasions, I was so focused on wishing I were home that I missed out on all the fun going on around me. It wasn’t until the option to even call home was taken away that I was forced to “be” where I was. Because of that, I ended up having a great time. At camp. Imagine that.
Unfortunately, this behavior didn’t end there. It reared its ugly head again my freshman year of college, when I spent a few months doing mission work after college, and once again after the biggest life-change of all, next to becoming a mom.
Nearly seven years ago, Cameron and I got married. Shortly afterwards, I left everything I knew and moved to Florida so we could start our lives together.
After taking some time to adjust to married life and living in a brand new state with a very different culture, I began to establish new friendships, accepted a new job, and started to set down roots in my new home. In the back of my mind, though, was the thought, “This is way too far away from my family. When will we be able to move closer?”
It’s hard to be content where you are when even a small part of you is just waiting to be somewhere else. It took several years, and a lot of wrestling with God, but I finally understood that wherever he has me, is the best place to be.
Just like when I was a child, it wasn’t until I realized I had no other option than to “bloom where I was planted,” that my eyes were opened to the wonderful opportunities around me. I knew God had a purpose for me here, and at long last, I chose to trust his plan instead of my own.
It sounds cheesy, but the day after I decided this, everything around me suddenly looked more beautiful. Since then, I’ve felt indescribably more content, joyful and fulfilled. Now, I’m going full steam ahead, trying to make up for the time I lost being stubbornly unhappy.
Proverbs 3:5-6 says, “Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make your paths straight.”
These verses have never meant more to me than they do now. As I look back on my life so far, I can truly see the way God has guided me. Even when I have veered away, he has gently set my path straight.
I don’t know what the future brings, but I can honestly say I’m excited. For I know, that wherever God has me planted, all I have to do is trust him, and I will bloom and grow.
