Before I went in for surgery my mind was all over the place and filled with negative thoughts. I needed to quiet my mind. So, to have something positive to focus on I started a small container garden. I enjoy tending to and nurturing something then being able to eat what grows. I watched my jalapenos grow. I was shocked at how fast they grew but my cherry tomatoes didn’t grow. Like at all! I was disappointed. Anyway, after my surgery I was not in any physical condition to be able to tend to my garden. Mentally I wasn’t in a place to even care.

The other plants continued to thrive even with my minimal efforts of caring for them.

I had plants both inside and outside. The outside plants often got forgotten about, so I decided if they stood any chance of survival, I had to move them out from their protective covering and put them in a spot where they could be watered when it rained. Now, I live in Florida and in summertime it’s hurricane season, so we have storms quite often.

As for the jalapeno plant it continued to give off jalapenos and the tomato plant continued to do nothing. They both still sat in direct contact with the rain and sunlight. Each day during the summer the days were the same. Storms and sun, storms and sun. Some days we got more storms than sun, other days there was more sun than storms. As I went on my healing journey, I realized being outside helped a lot.

One day, I was sitting outside and happened to look at my poor little cherry tomato plant which at this point I was thinking should just be thrown away. When I saw the tiniest little hint of light green. When I got closer, I saw it was a baby cherry tomato!!! I examined the rest of the plant and saw a few more!!! I could not contain my excitement and shock!!! Over the next few days I’d come out to check on it and they began to turn red and became bigger!!! Whaaaaat?!??!

As I sat back thinking about the miracle of me not killing this plant and enjoying the fruits of my non-labor because let’s face it, I didn’t do anything except compare it to all of the plants next to it. I realized this… The tomato plant had to grow in its own time. I was comparing the growth of the tomato’s to the growth of jalapenos, bell peppers and whatever else was around it, but it simply wasn’t the same as the other plants and had to be cared for differently. A tomato doesn’t even serve the same purpose as a pepper. They are both useful and taste great in our dishes but were never intended to be used the same way.

The tomato plant didn’t grow or begin to be fruitful until it literally went through those storms. Now, it went through the same storms as the other plants but it still developed differently and at its own pace. Just like us as people. The storms we experience in life are intended to make us grow, mature and gain resilience! We grow through what we go through but we can still miss signs of our own growth because we’re too busy comparing ourselves to everyone else around us. Not realizing we are all at different stages in our lives and grow at different rates. We’re not doing ourselves any favors by not giving ourselves grace and just allowing ourselves to go through the growing process.

The next time you catch yourself comparing yourself to another person STOP immediately and then think of three reasons why you love being you.

2 Corinthians 10:12 Not that we dare to classify or compare ourselves with some of those who are commending themselves. But when they measure themselves by one another and compare themselves with one another, they are without understanding.