Growing in unlikely places

This is a picture of my iris bed on the north side of the house. When we first moved into this house, this area was barren. It was covered in heavy bark mulch. Because it doesn't get a lot of sun, I wasn't sure what would grow here.

I had brought a lot of iris bulbs with me and knew that if they were going to have any chance of survival, they need to be at lest in the ground. The front side yard that now has flowers and rose bushes was filled with bushes and bark mulch. There was little room for much else.

In desperation, I decided to plant the iris on the north side of the house. I figured that I could transplant them the following year, but at least it would get them in the ground. As I started to dig? I mean cut my way through the layers of landscape cloth and plastic that covered the ground; I became even more doubtful that the bulbs would survive. There really wasn't any "soil" there - only layers of grass clippings. Each layer was covered by another layer of landscape cloth or plastic and more mulch. I planted the bulbs, but I did not have much hope that they would survive.

Imagine my surprise, when the bulbs started to sprout the next spring. We had a lot of yard work to do before I could transplant them. There were bushes to be removed and a sprinkler system to be installed. These projects were not completed until mid-summer. By then, the iris were flourishing. Now I have a beautiful iris bed in a once barren area of the yard.

Sometimes, I find the same to be true in my personal life. I find myself being drawn into circumstances where I have to do something that I would not ordinarily do. I am pulled out of my comfort zone. It is in these times that I have to reach deep within myself and find the true inner strength that dwells in all of us. It is a time when I grow the most. It not usually a comfortable time, but when I make it through, I realize that it was just what I needed to push me to the next level. What about you, are you willing to grow, even in unlikely situations? Are you willing to look for the reason you are where you are? Come ---- stretch and grow with me. Explore who you are. Explore your strengths. Bloom where you are planted. Lets celebrate our growth.