Grow Where You Are Planted

I have been working on getting these thoughts on paper for quite some time.  This topic has been on my list of blogs to write, but for some reason I just kept pushing it to the bottom of the list.  Sweet Tara shared her journey home with us in her last blog, and it was so sweet and inspiring!  It made me feel compelled to finally tell my story of learning to grow where you are planted. 

Like Tara and Jorjanne, I grew up in this small Georgia town called Ocilla.  The main difference in our stories is that I don’t have generations of family that lived here before me.  I have mentioned before that my mother is from Virginia, and my father is from Colorado.  They met at college in Tennessee and moved here in the 70’s.  Lack of family ties can really make one feel like an outsider from time to time, but it can also show you the power of good friendships!
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Ocilla was a fabulous place to be a kid, but as I grew, I became more and more restless here and ready to take on the world and be with some new folks.  I was blessed to travel a lot around the country with my family, so I knew there was a great big world out there waiting on me!  When I left for college, I could not imagine a life that would bring me back to this little place.  I was on to bigger and better things!

Boy, was I wrong!  After five years in Athens, soaking up the influence of various types of people and all the creative freedom that art school offered, I found myself moving back to Ocilla.  There was no prince charming, no fabulous job in a big city, and I couldn’t stand the thought of going straight into grad school (though I sometimes regret that decision).  My dad had retired from teaching and was starting a new business.  He needed someone to run the store, so I agreed to come home for one year while I decided what my next move would be.  My mother begged me not to come home because there was no one for me to marry.  So, here I am.  Twelve years later!

My dad and his business partner decided to sell the building and business after the first year.  They ended up selling to Matt, who is now my husband!  Sweet deal for him right?  Suddenly I found myself in charge of a very large business and in love with an import!  We’ve had 11 years of leaks, termites, empty bank accounts, back-breaking work and persecution from folks that were less than thrilled about our ideas for change in this small community.  Oh, and we’ve lived through a year-long deployment to Iraq, nine days after we got married. 

Needless to say, this was not the life I had imagined for myself when I left Ocilla after high school!  Matt and I have certainly endured hardships along the way and have been ready to give it up and move a time or two!  After much discussion, prayer and soul searching, we decided that we would in fact stay in Ocilla.  We would continue to give our all to our community and to try to continue to make Ocilla a great place to live!  As Matt said, “we will choose to grow where we have been planted”.  This has definitely become a labor of love and one that we truly feel is guided by God.  It is so interesting to look back over the years and see God’s plan, masterfully working in all the details of our lives. 

I have learned a lot about myself and what I am capable of over the course of my years here and I have also learned some very important lessons regarding love, community and faith.

After being dropped in a business world that I knew nothing about, I chose not to sink but to swim!  The school of hard knocks has a steep learning curve, but I think I am coming out on the other side a better businesswoman and leader than I ever imagined I could be.  As it turns out, I love retail (and development and marketing and all of the things I never thought about at all in college)! 
Though I never pursued a career in art, I am presented daily with ways to use my talents.  My shop provides an endless creative outlet!  Window and product displays, menu designs, marketing tools, packaging…. the list of creative projects is endless!  I am so blessed to be able to share these creative projects with my Dad, who is the most creative person I know.  If I dream it up, he can figure out a way to make it happen!

Dealing with the public every day has taught me a great lesson in love.  It is not easy to deal with people day in and day out.  I have said many times that I feel like my compassion bone is broken.  Service jobs have the potential to create very bitter people, and I have been determined not to become one of those!  My team and I make a conscious effort every day to greet those that come through our doors here with the love of Jesus, with an attitude that all are welcome and loved.  I am not saying that this is easy or fun sometimes, but to make an effort to see people and all that makes them who they are, rather than just see a customer is life-changing.  God has truly worked to soften my heart through the years and helped me to love those around me. 

Years of stress and hardships have helped shaped who I have become, but through all that my faith in God, my all-knowing and always-in-control Father, has grown by leaps and bounds!  We are all refined by fire as we journey through life.  Allowing God to be in control and being open to how He can use your trials to make you a better person is a very scary thing, but so worth it!  Because of all that I have been through and because of my growing faith, I no longer live in a state of fear and worry but in a state of excitement to see where the journey takes me next.  I am certainly not saying that I will never worry again, but I can honestly tell you that I am resting right now in the idea that my God has got it covered.  I definitely don’t always understand the hows and whys but I know I am never alone.  That lesson has been well worth the hardships. 

It took a few years, but I finally got over wishing my life was different or wishing that I lived in a different place and started embracing the life I have here.  The truth is, I LOVE what I do.  I love my community, my job, and my teammates.  It is an awesome thing to get to come to work every day to be with folks that I consider my family.  I love this little town and all the quirkiness that comes with it.  I love my husband, whom I would not have met had I not moved home.  I love all of my fairy godchildren that I would not have relationships with if the road had not brought me here.  I love my little house, and I love that I live in the neighborhood I grew up in.

I am truly excited about things that are happening here.  Matt and I are passionate about growing our businesses, both brick-and-mortar and online, so that we can continue to encourage growth and development in our small town.  Two years ago we were able to add Tara to the team, our first full time employee and an Ocilla native.  Bringing on a full timer was a big step for us and we are looking forward to growing our tribe in the coming years!  This past fall, Matt was elected Mayor of Ocilla, an unbelievable feat for an outsider in this little place!  Matt has a heart for bettering our community through economic development and I can’t wait to see where this next phase of our journey takes us! 

I hope this encourages you to embrace your journey, wherever you are!  Choose to love where you are and what you are doing and watch God do amazing things through you and to you!  Remember to grow where you are planted, even if it is not the flower bed you would have chosen for yourself!