Last summer I was working outside when I noticed little green seedlings at the edge of my compost bin. On a whim, I left the tiny plants alone, since they didn’t take up much space in my huge bin. 

A few weeks later, some sizable plants had grown. Now I was curious what they were, so I left them alone again to see what would happen.

Soon, little vines had twisted into a lush green dome that completely covered my compost bin. They had even climbed halfway up a nearby telephone pole!

In July, we suffered one of the worst hailstorms in memory. My mystery plant took a beating (and many of my other garden plants were killed), but shockingly, my tough little “garbage” vine survived. It soon began producing multiple sizes and shapes of miniature, colorful gourds. 

Sometimes we’re put in weird places and expected to bloom. We might not feel like we can thrive where we’re planted, but God always has a plan, and he’ll never leave us.

Sometimes, like my mystery plant, we even find to our bafflement that we were made “for such a time as this” (Esther 4:14) and thrive despite our odd surroundings.

So the next time you feel like a fish out of water, think of the little gourd plant that grew beyond expectation and remember—God can do amazing things in your life, no matter where you are!

“The Lord is my helper; I will not be afraid. What can mere mortals do to me?” (Hebrews 13:6).