Have you ever noticed a little flower growing through a crack in the sidewalk?
Whenever I see one, my mind immediately goes to the question, How did that little flower grow there?
There isn’t much soil. No one carefully chose the perfect spot or made sure it had everything it needed. Yet somehow, it pushed its way through the hard concrete and reached toward the light.
Life can feel like that sometimes.
We find ourselves in places we didn’t choose. Life changes. A door closes. We experience disappointment, loss, rejection, hurt, or circumstances we never expected.
And sometimes we wonder, How am I suppose to grow through this?
That’s what makes that little flower growing through the concrete so meaningful to me. The hard place didn’t disappear. The concrete was still there.
But so was the flower.
So much of our growth can take place during hard times. Like that little flower pushing through the concrete, sometimes the next step is hard. We may know we need to take it, but knowing and doing are two different things.
Sometimes growth is taking one small step
Sometimes it’s asking for help.
Sometimes it’s letting go.
Sometimes it’s getting up and trying one more time.
And sometimes it’s simply whispering, “Lord, I don’t understand, but I trust You.”
Those steps may seem small to someone else, but when we’re going through a hard time, they can feel enormous.
There is no rush.
Growth and change take time. When God is teaching us, it’s His timing, not ours. We don’t have to force the process or have everything figured out. Some days the step forward may be very small. Some days we may need to rest.
Having faith doesn’t make the hard times disappear. It reminds us that we don’t walk through them alone.
Think about that little flower. Before we ever saw it pushing through the crack, something was happening beneath the surface. Roots were growing. Life was taking place where no one could see it.
Maybe God is doing something similar in us.
We don’t need a lot of light to begin to see change. We may still have hard days. We may not feel strong every day. But little by little, strength is growing—even on the days when we don’t feel it. The concrete may still be there.
BUT so is GOD:
- And there is no rush.
- There is still light.
- There is still growth.
- There is still hope.
