This week, the weather has turned in the UK. It's definitely not summer anymore.
Every winter, I reach a point where I've had enough.
The constant rain. Gray skies. The cold. Darkness at 4pm.
I dream of Lisbon or Barcelona, strolling the streets in the sun, willing the season to change.
It rarely stays with the weather. Once I start wishing myself somewhere else, I do it everywhere.
I tell myself I'd be more patient in a different season of life, calmer with more sleep, closer to God once things are less busy.
Without ever saying it out loud, I treat where I am as a waiting room. My real life is always about to start, just as soon as I get out of this one.
The trouble with a waiting room is that nobody puts down roots in one. I sit on the edge of the chair with my coat still on. I don't unpack, I don't invest much, and I certainly don't expect anything to grow there.
Psalm 92 describes people who flourish, and it is specific about where they grow:
"They are planted in the Lord's house. They will flourish in our God's courts. They will still produce fruit in old age. They will be full of sap and green." (Psalm 92:13-14)
The psalm never mentions the climate. It doesn't say how long the winters last, whether the soil is any good, or whether those trees ended up where they would have picked.
It says they are planted in the Lord's house. Their roots are in God Himself, so the weather around them is not what decides whether they grow.
And look how long they keep going. They are still bearing fruit in old age, still full of sap and green. A tree like that has stood through decades of winters, and its roots were in the same place through every one of them.
So when the dark afternoons come round again, the question worth asking is where my roots are.
Most days, I would still choose Barcelona. But the God who planted me here is here too, and He is enough to grow on.
Maybe you're somewhere right now you would never have chosen. A place, a job, a season that has gone on far longer than you hoped.
It's tempting to sit through it with your coat on.
You don't have to wait until you're out of it to start growing.
If your roots are in the Lord, you can flourish right where you are. He can make you fruitful in the very place you'd leave tomorrow if you could, and keep you green long after this season has passed.
Prayer.
Lord, help me to bloom where You've planted me, to flourish right here in this place, this season, this situation instead of wishing I was somewhere else.
I spend so much time looking at other people's lives, thinking things would be better elsewhere, convinced I'd thrive if only my circumstances were different.
Teach me that You placed me here intentionally, that this season, this location, this job, these relationships aren't random but purposeful, designed for my growth.
Blooming where I'm planted means making the most of where I am now, investing in this place rather than always planning my exit, choosing to thrive here instead of just surviving until something changes.
Help me stop waiting for better conditions to start living fully, stop believing I'll flourish when circumstances change, and start making something beautiful with what I have right now.
Remind me that You don't waste seasons, that even difficult places can produce growth, that staying faithful where I am matters more than constantly seeking somewhere better.
Give me contentment with where You've placed me, patience with the process, and faith that You knew what You were doing when You put me here.
Let me bloom where You've planted me today, thriving in this season, making the most of this place, trusting that where You've placed me is exactly where I'm meant to be.
In Jesus' name,
Amen.
