Sometimes, God will call us to bloom in the most unlikely of places. The really beautiful thing about this photo is the fact that someone took a tree stump, a dead thing, and put life in it. As Christians, we too are often called to bring light, life, into dark places.

Flowers don’t refuse to bloom so long as their basic needs are met. Flowers don’t say “I won’t bloom until I am planted somewhere better.” Blooming is about flourishing; it’s about being your very best self. Flowers bloom because they know it’s the best thing! How often do people tell themselves “I’ll be happy and flourish when I get the job, the car, the house, the relationship.” How often do they say “I’ll flourish once I reach my destination.” What they do not realize is that the destination is within them. Life begins to happen for our good when we choose to bloom—not the other way around.

Blooming is about maturity. Flowers reach the pinnacle of growth as they bloom. Flowers never say “I’ll mature when all the other flowers mature first.” Flowers never say “Why should I be “the bigger person when they aren’t?” Oftentimes, we are called to act with maturity even when no one around us is. After all, you never know who you’re inspiring.

I’m not a fast food kind of person. The food is full of toxins, and the staff are almost always in a hurry, stressed, or just plain rude. The other day, I was really craving a sweet tea, so I pulled into a drive through. As I made my way to the window, I saw a lady laughing with her coworkers. She seemed joyful; she was alive. The smile never left her face as she opened the window, and the very next thing I noticed was her bright baby pink nails. “I love your nails!” I said. Her smile became even bigger, and she immediately responded, “Thank you! I love your hair!”

I’ve never worked in the fast food industry, and I won’t even pretend to know what they go through on a daily basis, but one thing I do know: that lady was a flower blooming in a very unlikely place, the very place she was planted.

In life, we don’t always have a choice in where we end up. Blooming is a choice. Blooming is about choosing not just to live but to be alive. That’s the beauty, the gift of being alive: we can bloom wherever God plants us.