Bloom Where You are Planted

 

Have you ever wondered, how did I end up here?

 

This town, this neighborhood, these friends, this church? I have. Anyone else? Sometimes I think deep about things like this…not sure why. After a drive home from a trip, and pull off our exit and almost immediately pull into our neighborhood I think, this is our place, where we belong, where we pull off life’s highway and make our life, our nest. Where we stop, park and live. Sometimes I can get mind boggled on things like that.

 

I met my husband (through Courtney…she takes total credit for that, and for my wedding dress) while I was living in Columbus, GA, he in Atlanta. We dated and proceeded to fall in love (awww) and I moved to Atlanta to live with Courtney and our friend Amy. We were married and made our home in the “burbs”. (I’m a soccer mom like that.) I followed him…house hunting in areas he knew of…not me…I was clueless about Atlanta, but I was in love… He really could have led me to the middle of a desert and I would have followed, which would have been unfortunate because I really love greenery and hills and character and planting flowers and shade trees and ferns hanging on my front porch…anyway…we bought our home and I was thrilled. We were starting our life together. I had a few friends here…girls I taught school with at the time. Other than that this was a new adventure, new territory.

 

One day at the mailbox my neighbor and I met and were fast friends, exchanging wedding videos (ahem…vhs tapes) that very night (let’s not go there). They had also just gotten married. We started visiting churches together…ended up joining together and finding a Sunday school class…you guessed it…together, where we met “our people”.

 

The people and friends we would do life with.

 

Still all best friends today we have several, a lot, A LOT of children between us. A LOT….and they are cute, I mean CUTE.  And, have you ever tried to get 17 kids smiling? Oh well, still cute. anyway…getting off topic.

 

 

And while I love our friends, our neighborhood, our schools, our church, our neighbors, sometimes I daydream about what it would be like to start over, a new adventure…not that I want to leave anything of the life I know, just the excitement of a new chapter. Am I the only one who does this? Once a few years ago I really struggled in this phase thinking, this is it. Where God has us…it was clear…His blessings were all around us, but I longed for something new, a new chapter. I came across this little card…a coincidence? I think not…I was meant to come across this. I placed it in my kitchen window where I would see it everyday as I washed dishes, because…well…my family expects meals…so you can find me there. It was a reminder for me that God does call me to bloom where I am planted. This is where He so clearly planted us and has blessed us beyond measure with friends and family. I never want to take that for granted, even on the days I yearn for an adventure.

 

 

At the end of the day I am well aware that the grass is always greener. This is home and I choose to bloom. Lord, help me be all You would have me be here, where You have placed me. The older I get he more I realize my longing to be in His will…I don’t want to do anything outside of that. I’m too scared to miss His blessings. If I instill anything in the precious girls He’s given me to raise it is that…long to stay in His will.

 

As I flew to Dallas last week to visit my aunt and uncle I flew in the Dallas/ Fort Worth airport…I looked down upon the many many houses and thought of all the people inside that were planted there. They are where God has them. He chose them to be there, whether they realize that or not. On a morning run while on my visit I ran by the local high school and watched a trio of cute girls bee bop into school together and I smiled thinking, this is their place…where they were planted to be raised and live. I don’t know why I think deep like this, I just do and I find is fascinating how the Lord ordains our steps and has us where He wants us.

 

So today I pray that we will choose to “Bloom where we are planted” After all…The Lord ultimately “plants” us, but it is up to us to “bloom” there.

 

Have you felt this way before?

Are you struggling with where you’ve been planted?