Growing HopeSample

On Day 1, we talked about growing wildflowers from tiny seed packets. Dolly Parton has a song called Wildflowers Don’t Care Where They Grow. If you’ve never heard it, I recommend pouring a glass of sweet Southern iced tea and letting her voice, the words, the autoharp, and the harmonies wash over you.

Wildflowers pop up everywhere in spring and summer: brown-eyed Susans, cosmos, sunflowers, lady slippers, and zinnias. Their popularity comes partly from how easy they are to grow. Even novice gardeners can succeed by following the simple directions on the back of a seed packet.

A few seeds tossed in the right spot—near the sun and in halfway decent soil—and you’re in business. In the same way, we need to be in the right proximity to the Son if we want to thrive.

In my current yard, there is a lot of shade, so I had to research which wildflowers could grow there. It made me wonder: What kind of wildflower am I? What kind are you?

Are you someone who thrives naturally in quiet, like shade flowers? Or do you need the excitement of community and sunlight to feel alive? Or maybe, like me, you fall somewhere in between—in the partial sun.

Knowing where you thrive can help you create space to cultivate hope and avoid easy pitfalls.

Reflect

• What kind of wildflower are you?
• How can you create an atmosphere each day where you can thrive in the growing season?