They Grow Up Different…
As I’m sitting on our porch this morning after a much needed rain, a reoccurring thought I’ve been pondering for awhile came to my mind.
I have perennial flowers I planted early this summer that I water everyday. I nourish them with fertilizer every couple of weeks and love to watch them grow and bloom. I have high hopes that they will continue to flourish year after year on their own in the future.
But, this summer, without me, they would either die or still be in a greenhouse, thriving only within the confines of their pot. Maybe they’d be in someone else’s yard or soil type thriving or dying. I don’t know where they’d be, but that doesn’t matter, because these are mine!
I also have bushes, they were once planted and nourished by someone else years ago. It’s hard to tell how old they are. I trim them occasionally to keep them healthy and looking sharp. For the most part though, they stand alone, always growing and always providing shelter for the bird and the bugs and occasionally, against my desire, shade for a dog.
There are the wildflowers. These pretty purple and white flowers alongside the Iowa gravel roads flourish on their own. They only need Mother Nature to look after them. No matter what the conditions, they always seem to bloom and find a way to catch my eye and make me smile.
Then I have weeds. They pop up voluntarily and I don’t like them. They’re ugly and pesky and they are constantly trying to root down to eventually starve out the newly planted perennials, who still need my help. As soon as I start to get ahead, there they are.
The bushes on the other hand, they’re strong enough, rooted deep enough and mature enough to let the weeds take up a little of their soil, without letting it disrupt them at all.
The wildflowers stand amongst many weeds. These flowers sometimes get starved out, but they usually thrive amongst them. They tower over to where you don’t really even notice the weeds amongst them.
You see God gave us the flowers to plant, the bushes to prune and wildflowers who thrive on their own. He also gave us weeds amongst them all. Just like people.
Like the perennials, some of people will always need to support to get started, to bloom and to continue on our journey. They will always need someone there to help pull the weeds so they can continue growing and serving their purpose.
Some people are like bushes. They just need a little help to get started, then they grow where they’re planted and the weeds pop up from time to time, but only make a difference if their roots get too deep for too long.
Others are like wildflowers. They spread and grow on their own, flowering, blooming and living amongst the weeds regardless of the weather, the soil or the care.
Don’t judge someone or something based on how they thrive. Like flowers in garden, bushes, or wildflowers there are weeds amongst us all and we all survive in different ways. We need different soil, different situations, more or less people to help us, more or less fertilizer.
Be the person who looks for the beauty in others just the way they are. Be the person who fertilizes those who need more support to bloom. Be the person that pulls out the weeds before they suck the life out of the people you love and care about.
Every single one of us is beautiful and needed and wanted. Today, let someone know they’re beautiful and appreciated just the way they are!
Comments