My Mimi had a green thumb. If thumbs actually turned green, hers would have been chartreuse. THAT was her color. If I had a green thumb, I think that would be my color, too.
I like to think I have a green thumb. Every spring and early summer, I test the theory.
This summer, instead of visiting the local county plant farm, I just opted for a trip to Lowe's. You know, trying to save a little money.
My youngest and I made a day of it with a friend of mine, a fellow coach's wife. We got home that afternoon and planted all the plants in planters I already had. I took a mixture of new and last year's soil, and there they were, pretty as ever.
I jokingly wondered how long they'd last in this Georgia heat.
Since then, watering them has been a part of my daily routine, except for when it rains, of course. I've plucked the "bad" or "dead" looking leaves and have literally prayed over the plants (that's what my Mimi did).
Each day, they've received the same amount of water. When we've gone out of town, I have made sure to get friends to water them. I am doing all I know to do to keep them alive.
There was one particular plant. I had gotten two of them at Lowe's that day—one was blooming and flourishing, the other was more dead by the day. One afternoon, as I was picking all the "dead" pieces off of each plant, I went to grab the now-dead stems from this one, and the WHOLE plant came out of the pot.
I thought about this for a while - how often do we not take root? I'm sure you've heard the saying, "Bloom where you are planted," but what about starting with our roots?
"You can have more than one home. You carry your roots with you and decide where they grow."
As a coach's wife, there's always a fear of starting over somewhere new, but one thing I have learned that makes it easier to bloom where you are planted is to take root.
Maybe you're not a coach's wife, but you're stuck in a place that you dislike, where you can't see a way out. Maybe you hate the work environment you're in. Maybe you're in a season of waiting and need an answer, but you don't know how long this season will last.
Think about that plant - all the other plants I planted the same day, in the same soil, with the same water - BLOSSOMED. That could be you.
I am reminded of Ecclesiastes 3:11-14 NIV.
"He has made everything beautiful in its time. He has also set eternity in the human heart, yet no one can fathom what God has done from beginning to end. I know that there is nothing better for people than to be happy and to do good while they live. That each of them may eat and drink, and find satisfaction in all their toil—this is the gift of God. I know that everything God does will endure forever; nothing can be added to it and nothing taken from it. God does it so that people will fear him."
I believe that as children of God, if we are actively seeking the Lord's will for our lives, no experience will be wasted. I want to be known for my roots, those I bring with me from how I was raised, and the life experiences that have shaped who I am, but I also want to be known for the roots that I purposefully plant where I am.
It's time to stop wishing and get to living.