I was sitting in the drive-thru line at my bank the other day.  As I waited for the teller to cash my check, I looked around at all the pretty flowers. They always do such a good job with the landscaping.  Then I noticed a bright yellow flower all alone. It was almost behind the dumpster, against the fence on top of a pile of gravel.  From the location of the flower, it grew there on its own.  I don’t know if it was from a seed of one that had been discarded and missed the dumpster.  I don’t know if a bird dropped it.  But it was still there with its face to the sun saying, ‘Hey world, here I am; I am not supposed to be here, but I fought hard to grow through the rough spots.’ That one flower defied the odds and grew where it wasn’t supposed to grow.

How many times do we face things that try to define our purpose for us? Are we going to allow our circumstances to define us? Are we going to boldly stand with our faces to God and say, ‘Hey world, here I am, I am not supposed to be here, the enemy tried to take me out, but God had other plans.’

I have fought through adversity to grow into the person that I am; satan doesn’t define me. I may not be planted where some feel I should be, but I am where God wants me. I want to be like the one lone flower and keep growing even if it is not easy. Sometimes it’s easier to stand out when we are not surrounded by other flowers. Bloom where God plants you and be bold. Sometimes we are called to be set apart from the crowd to let our light shine.

God will sometimes remove people from our lives. Others he will make unavailable because he wants us to lean on him. We need to come apart and be with him. He wants us to sit quietly and listen to him. We can grow spiritually through adversity. The hard things make us stronger and more determined. If our roots go deep enough, we can grow even when we are in rocky places. I want to be a determined individual, determined to keep my face toward God and bloom where He plants me.

 Gal 6:9 And let us not be weary in well doing: for in due season we shall reap, if we faint not.

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