I was out walking through the woods a while back when I came to a clearing that was full of tall weeds. Everywhere I looked there were these dried up, brown, ugly weeds. As I continued walking, about a hundred yards in, I saw this beautiful flower. It was so bright and colorful; so refreshing. It had bloomed right there in the middle of all those weeds. As I looked I thought, "Really, that's what God wants us to do. He wants us to just bloom wherever we're planted."

Your environment does not have the power to keep you from being happy. You may work around a bunch of "weeds," but that doesn't have to stop you from blooming. The key is to not focus on the weeds. Some people spend all their time trying to pull up the weeds, so to speak. In other words, they try to fix everything around them. They try to make people do what's right. They try to straighten out all their co-workers. But we have to realize that we can't change people. Only God can.

If somebody wants to be a weed, no matter what you do, they are going to be a weed. If you spend all your time and energy trying to change others, it's going to keep you from blooming. One of the best things you can do is to focus on what God has for you to do. You can bloom right in the middle of those co-workers who are negative and critical. You can put a smile on your face and be kind and friendly. You can have a good report. Your job is not to pull up the weeds. Your job is to bloom.

Remember, you may be surrounded by a bunch of weeds today, but you can just bloom right where you are. You can be the one to set a new standard for your family. You can be the one to raise the bar. When God sees you doing what you can do, He'll show up and do what you can't. He will give you breaks that you didn't deserve. He will cause people to be good to you for no reason. He will open up doors that no man can shut, and He'll pour out His favor and blessing upon you in every area of your life!

I made you grow like a plant of the field. You grew up and developed and became the most beautiful of jewels (Ezekiel 16:7, NIV).