Bloom Where You Are Planted

I was driving home from a long day at work this week. As a visiting nurse, I serve primarily those living in poverty and have become someone accustomed to driving through bleak areas of town. That afternoon as I drove, I was crying a bit and wishing that I had been able to help a client in a desperate situation more than I had. You could say that I was having a one person pity-party.

I was driving on streets riddled with pot holes, surrounded by small, dilapidated homes that I knew often housed multiple families inside their drafty, bleak interiors. Then, I spotted a glorious sight. There were two children holding hands as they walked along the battered sidewalk. Their winter coats were thread-bare and dirty and I'm certain the mittens full of holes were not providing them with much warmth against the brutal winter wind.

Yet, they seemed oblivious to the biting cold and the poverty which surrounded them. They clasped hands and spun in circles until they would fall dizzy and delirious onto the dead, winter grass. If I allowed my tears to blur my vision so that their clothing and the houses behind them were unclear, they could have been two children living anywhere.

Just a boy and girl.

Brother and Sister.

Choosing to live in joy, despite terrible circumstances.

Choosing to be in the moment with someone they love.

We hope to instill life lessons into the children around us, but isn't it often those same children who teach us how to live?





Bloom where you are planted, Dear Ones. Choose joy. Choose love.

Shine On.