I am a natural planner. I’m pretty sure I was born this way. Even as a young girl I remember always wanting to know what was going on and what to expect next. And that desire has stuck with me throughout my life. I love to dream and plan and set goals. This isn’t necessarily a bad thing, but oftentimes my desire for the future has held me back from truly appreciating and thriving in the right now.
In the past couple of years especially, God has really pointed out this tendency in me. This realization was a bit sobering. When I get to the end of my life, I want to know that I have truly made the most out of every season I’ve been in, and not just wished for what was coming next.
It can be too easy to get caught up in the mindset that “the grass is greener on the other side” and then start wishing to be on the other side of so many things. Wishing to be finished with school…to land that dream job…to meet “the one”…to be married…to have kids…to live in a certain town or state…to own a house…to get a raise…for our babies to sleep through the night…for our toddler to be potty trained…for that next opportunity to come…for Friday to just get here already. We can spend our entire lives wishing for the next thing that we think will make us happy, but once that thing comes we are already too caught up in looking toward the next best thing that we forget to truly enjoy what is right in front of us. I don’t want to live that way.
If we constantly buy into the lie that the grass is greener on the other side then we will never enjoy our lives. We will just continue to be miserable. The truth is, the grass is greener where you water it. When we are caught up in looking for the next best thing, we neglect where we are right now and then it’s no wonder that where we are right now starts to look a little brown and withered.
Picture a tree that is planted in the ground. If the tree isn’t well tended to, then it will only grow shallow roots and will become susceptible to drought and could more easily wither up and die. But then picture a tree that is planted and then looked after and well loved, this tree will grow deep roots that will help it survive even in the harsher seasons. This tree will thrive and bloom where it’s planted.
I want to be like that second tree. I want to grow deep roots, bloom, and thrive where I am right now. No matter what that season looks like, I want to make the best of it. I want to cherish these days, because I know before long they will be in the past.
“I have learned to be content whatever the circumstances. I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want. I can do all this through him who gives me strength.” - Philippians 4:11b-13
“I wish there was a way to know you’re in the good old days before you’ve actually left them.” – Andy from The Office
You know what…we’re in the good old days right now. The season you’re in right now has the potential to be your best yet. So let’s grow deep roots, bloom where we’re planted, and thrive.
