It’s been a fun week waking up to birds singing, sunlight and longer days. I saw my first baby rabbit this week–another sign that spring is coming. I’ve been looking at flowers and plants, trying to decide what I want to plant this year. Spring is a beautiful season when everything comes alive.
Do you plant a garden? Flowers, vegetables or both? I enjoy planting flowers. Flowers come in an array of colors, sizes, and fragrances, and they bring me joy. I’m ready to play in the dirt. A good garden needs soil, food, weed killer, mulch, water, sunshine, love and patience.
This time of year makes me think of the phrase, “bloom where you are planted.” How do we do that? Truthfully, sometimes it’s hard to bloom where you are planted. We go through dark, difficult times. Our lives can be hard like the soil after winter. Sometimes we can feel like we’ve been buried alive. Everything can feel dark, hard, and cold with no way out.
To make soil right for planting, it needs to be turned, loosened up and fed. The same love we give to our soil so our plants can grow and flourish, we can give to ourselves. Each challenge in life prepares us for the next season. To develop in the hard soil, we have to be kind, patient and show compassion to ourselves. Pruning isn’t pleasant, but it’s important to our growth.
How do you bloom where you are planted? Here are a few suggestions that can help us grow.
Stop comparing: have you noticed when you have an assortment of flowers growing in your garden, each one grows at its own pace and has its own unique colors and fragrance? Each flower is on its right schedule. Take your time and grow at your own pace. Embrace your uniqueness. Remember you’re on your own journey and on the right schedule for you.
Be content: flowers bloom and grow in a variety of environments, be it rain, sun or wind. Learning to be content with where we are and what we have is important to our growth.
Grow: take the time to learn new things. We take the time to learn how to plant and care for our flowers so they can successfully grow. It’s important to be a lifetime learner.
Be kind: treat yourself and others the same way you’d tend a fragile flower. Talking to our plants can help them to grow. Think and say kind things about yourself.
Be a blessing: reach out to another person who is struggling. When flowers are being overtaken with weeds, what do you do? You pull the weeds. The flowers then have room to grow. When you reach out to help another person, you encourage them to grow.
Be grateful: gratitude is the best way to bloom. Be grateful for all you have. Keep a gratitude journal or gratitude jar. Each day write down three things you are grateful for.
Smile 🙂 do flowers bring you joy? Your smile brings joy to other people. Always wear your smile!
Don’t give up: after a summer rain, flowers sometimes lean over but when the sun comes out they straighten up again. When you have a hard time, brush the dirt off, get up and try again. Don’t quit.
Keep the faith: pray for and about everything; have a strong faith that God has the perfect plan to help you bloom where He has you planted.
How are you blooming where you are planted? What would you add to this list? Please tell us in the comments below.
This is a very beautiful and heartfelt analogy.
I love to garden but may have to wait more.
I have been in the dead of winter for the last 12 months. It’s been hard not to do some of those things I liked, like gardening and taking out the weeds to clean things up. Hopefully Pete will have more time this year (partially retiring) to do more of the gardening. Planting vegetables and flowers.
Thanks for sharing. ❤️
Thank you Jane for your kind comments.
It has been long winter for you but I know spring is coming soon for you.
Thank you Marie. This was beautiful. I’m looking forward to planting flowers and a garden. Taking care of our new baby chicks and watching them grow and produce eggs. I love spring the beginning of newness and life. Looking at where I want to grow this year.
Yes, I love that everything is new. A fresh start.
Lovely I really enjoy you telling about your flowers, and the weeds. My husband does the planting since my back keeps me from it. But we work together him asking where I want things planted. I can’t wait for our tulips to come up.
Tulips are one of my favorites.
This blog is lovely you touched on the beaty of spring. I enjoy seeing people’s gardens, spring flowers, and everything coming back to life after falling asleep from the winter. I am so thankful I love where we have 4 seasons. Each one had its own special beauty.
Thank you, Marie, for all your inspiration and all your enthusiasm.
I am grateful for your friendship and being a sister in Christ.
Love you,
Karyn
Yes, I love all the seasons. Each season brings its on beauty and personality.
I am thankful for your friendship. Love your sweet encouragement.
Love your Spring analogies to ourselves! Time to reflect and grow along side the flowers!
I can’t wait to start planting flowers. Love all the colors.
I love gardening. I have little seedlings growing right now and I can’t wait until the frost is over with. Something I would add to this list is to ‘Do the work!’
Sometimes we look at our vision and we want to skip the journey; but if we aren’t careful, we’ll neglect the steps it takes to get the vision.
I have a vision of having flowers and crops growing, and I can sit among the hummingbirds and enjoy the end results. But, I have a grassy lawn and if I want crops, I have to work hard to get the beds set up.
It takes a long time to get a vision realized and blossoming where you are planted might mean you have nurture your soil before the blossoms happen. I use the words ‘Blossom where you are.’ in coaching and when I saw the topic of your post it just made my heart leap! I love the way you write.
I love the word blossom. Thank you for sharing. I’m looking forward to planting flowers.