A few years back, a friend and I planted in our yards the bush commonly called ‘yesterday, today and forever’. She put her plant in a pot and set it in partial sun. I haphazardly planted mine in the ground in full sun where it filled an unsightly gap where the fence line and a hedge were to meet, but didn’t. Both plants appeared healthy, but hers bloomed profusely, mine sparsely. At the end of last summer I potted mine and put it in an area similar to hers. I checked it once in awhile to see how the shock of the move was affecting it.
As spring weather eased out winter’s, my plant doubled in size, looked extremely healthy and, I expect, will shortly have many blossoms.
Recently I e-mailed her to tell her what I had done and the results of my efforts. She replied, “Interesting … I moved mine into the ground … Mine is not blooming at the moment … I find it fascinating that they both hang on. What is God trying to teach us from this?”
Here is my take on this true to life parable. What would be yours?
Unlike the haphazard gardeners, which some of us are, the God of the Bible plants His children with purpose. One purpose is to grow a child spiritually. With the planting, He provides the resources needed for growth. Even negative experiences, when handled properly, can promote healthy growth. Our plants hung on by drawing from nutrients from the soil in which they had been planted. When life gets difficult, we can hang on by drawing from what God has provided for our spiritual growth – reading from the Bible and applying what we learn, being led by the Holy Spirit who guides and comforts, praying, ministering and being ministered to at a local church and seeking advice from mature Christians.
It is easy to forget how important our spiritual growth is to God; so we need to ask ourselves these questions and make adjustments where necessary:

Will I allow God to move and plant me as He sees fit?
What circumstances in my life are causing me grief or, I think, are less than bearable?
Have I allowed myself enough time to recover from the shock of a change in my environment?
What resources has God provided in order for me to grow spiritually through difficult times? Is my spiritual growth as important to me as it is to God?
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In the above writing I used ‘lackadaisical’ to describe my gardening skills. As I reread my draft, I thought, “I had better check the meaning of that word.” Sure enough, the definition didn’t fit me.

“lackadaisical: feeling or showing a lack of interest or enthusiasm” from Merriam-Webster dictionary

I then checked out its origin: “lackadaisical. A lackadaisical person, lethargic, listless, lazy person, was originally someone given to sighing, “lackaday, lackaday,” a shortening of alack-a-day (“woe is the day”). Laurence Sterne may have coined lackadaisical from the earlier lackaday; anyway, he first recorded the word in his Sentimental Journey (1768)” from Word and Phrase Origins by Robert Fredrickson

I then had to look up ‘coined’. “coin: to create (a new word or phrase) that other people begin to use”
Merriam-Webster dictionary

Finally I checked ‘haphazard’. Its definition is, “having no plan, order, or direction”. This perfectly describes my gardening efforts but not my basic nature. That is the antonym of ‘haphazard’ – ambitious, animated, energetic, enterprising, motivated. Merriam-Webster dictionary
At least it was until I reached 70 years of age. But I still like to chase rabbits in the Bible, dictionaries and on the Internet..