Bloom Where You Are Planted...

What if we didn't have a choice.

I wouldn’t have picked this rocky cliff to plant myself, but I didn’t have much say on where the bird splat me out in a wet slush of poop.

At least there was enough soil for me to sprout. The view wasn’t bad either—rolling hills and a green meadow below.

I would not grow as tall or wide as the trees in the valley. There wasn’t space for that, but I would be strong. Daily winds forced my roots to dig deep and to sprawl out like fingers clutching the side of the cliff.

While I didn’t chose this place, I choose it now, willing my roots to grow thick and search for more pockets of dirt between the cracks and crevices of rock.
As I grew, visitors arrived. Colorful birds perching in my branches as we sat in amicable silence admiring sunrise and sunset.

The Story Behind the Story

While we cannot control all of our circumstances (especially childhood), we can control: our attitude and actions.

A client of mine is writing her first book and God keeps reminding her, Bloom where you are planted. Stay planted. Small steps.

It is a gift to journey with her each week because the truth God is singing over her is the same truth my soul desperately needs.

How often do I dismiss or shirk the reality of my season and space, when God is inviting me deeper. This is the sacred space spiritual direction offers: an hour set aside to listen and notice. To hold questions with gentle curiosity.

As Sue Monk Kidd eloquently wrote in When the Heart Waits: Spiritual Direction for Life’s Sacred Questions:

…the heart of religion was setting up an honest dialogue with the uniqueness of one’s soul and finding a deeply personal relationship with God.

The spiritual formation of writers and creatives is vitally important because these are often the voices God calls to serve and shape the nations. It’s why when I read Isaiah 61:1, I keep hearing:

Set the creatives free. Set the creatives free. Set the creatives free.

The question I’d love to offer to you is this:
What would it look like for you to bloom where you are planted?

If the idea of spiritual direction and formation sounds inviting to you, having someone (maybe me) companion you as we listen for what is God is writing in and through you and your life.

There is no cookie cutter. The journey of spiritual formation as we travel with Jesus is a grand adventure. We don’t always know where we will lay our heads or what waits for us along the way.

An Invitation to Bloom Where You Are

But as someone who embarked on a journey of soul work in 2017, it is deeply rewarding and the view…it’s spectacular, even if a bit windy.

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About Deanne Welsh

Deanne Welsh is a writer, coach, and spiritual director with a mission to set writers free. Through Unstoppable Writers, she offers spiritual direction and writing coaching on the calling and craft of walking and writing with God. If you’re a writer or creative longing to bloom where you’re planted, Deanne would love to companion you. You can comment on this post or send her a DM on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/deannewelshwrites/ .