Growing Forward: Bloom Where You’re Planted—Even When the Soil Feels Hard

Helping children (and adults) see how healing can grow, even after loss

Some of the most beautiful growth doesn’t happen in perfect soil… it happens in the places we never expected anything to bloom.

🌱 When Life Feels Hard

The Lord is close to the brokenhearted and saves those who are crushed in spirit— Psalm 34:18

Grief, loss, or unexpected life changes happen to everyone. It’s part of being human. Some of us face grief or loss at a young age. When that happens, it is especially important to have an adult who can be there for the child or teen to help them move forward. If there isn’t such a person, the child or teen can face depression, anxiety, and other mental health struggles. They can feel stuck or unchanged and never find a way to grow through the loss.

🌼 Blooming Where You Are

From one man he made all the nations, that they should inhabit the whole earth; and he marked out their appointed times in history and the boundaries of their lands. — Acts 17:26

Going through grief can be a very confusing time. We may not understand where we are in the process, and while it is a process, it is also different for each person. Most people are aware that there are ‘steps’ to grief, but not everyone goes through grief in a particular order. How a child has been prepared through other events in life has a lot to do with how they process grief at whatever age. It may be a more difficult process for some than for others in moving forward; it is hard and hurtful for all. But God still works in this place.

🌧️ Growth Takes Time

Therefore we do not lose heart. Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day. — 2 Corinthians 4:16

I mentioned in my previous blog that I struggled with grieving the loss of my daddy when he died, when I was 8 years old. After years of anxiety and depression, it took a counselor to ask me if I had ever really grieved my daddy to open my eyes to that fact. I had talked to counselors throughout the years at various times, but it took a question from her a couple of years ago to get me thinking about how my grief looked back then and over the years. I did some grieving, of course, but I don’t think I actually worked through it and its effects on me.

🌿 What God Is Growing in Us

But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law. — Galatians 5:22-23

God is working all the time. He doesn’t stop and put us on hold while He does “other things.” He is able and willing to work on our behalf at all times. Isn’t that an amazing thing? We may feel like nothing is happening, or we aren’t receiving answers to our prayers, but all the while, God is developing such things as hope, patience, and compassion in us, that we might show His glory as we move toward Him.

Especially important for children learning to process grief is to know that small things are happening in them. While moving through days of sadness, children need to know that things are improving, in them, in order to understand that life continues to move on. Being able to smile or laugh again, playing with friends, talking openly and honestly to an adult are small signs that can give them confidence that life can once again contain hope and happiness.

🌸 Helping Children Grow Through Grief

Trust in him at all times, you people; pour out your hearts to him, for God is our refuge. — Psalm 62:8

Some activities I would advocate to help children grow through grief are talking, drawing, journaling, and being heard. Young children may not be able to express their feelings in words or writing and may even act out or go silent. It is important to allow them to find a way to show how they are feeling through an activity they may enjoy. Some children may like to draw or color; others may enjoy music or journaling, depending on their age. The right thing is to let them choose what is helpful for them. I created a hope companion journal to go with my book, And the Sun Came Up: A True Story of Grief and Hope, that includes many of these types of activities. They can be done by the child or with the assistance of an adult. The journal is called Sunlight for the Soul: A Hope Journal for Kids Walking Through Sadness.

✨ Trusting the Gardener

“I am the true vine, and my Father is the gardener. He cuts off every branch in me that bears no fruit, while every branch that does bear fruit he prunes so that it will be even more fruitful.” — John 15:1-2

God knows what He is doing! While loss is part of our human experience due to our sinfulness, God never leaves us to face difficult times alone. But without Him, we will continue to be lost. As John 15:1-2 states, He prunes and cleans us so that we can become more open to His presence in our lives. As we turn to Him, growth will occur. We must keep our eyes on Him and continue to turn to Him, even on the bad days.

🌼 Closing Thought

Even in hard soil, God is still growing something beautiful.

🎨 Children’s Activity

Mini Activity Idea:
“Bloom Where You’re Planted” 🌱

• Draw a flower

• In the petals: write or draw feelings (emojis work)

• In the roots: write or draw what helps you feel safe (God, family, prayer, a place)

🙏 Breath Prayer

Inhale: Lord, plant Your hope…
Exhale: Deep in my heart.

Deep within your heart, God is already planting seeds of hope that will bloom in time. What God plants in your heart today will bloom in ways you cannot yet imagine.

💛 Final Encouragement

Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged, for the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go. — Joshua 1:9

May our Lord Jesus Christ himself and God our Father, who loved us and by his grace gave us eternal encouragement and good hope. — 2 Thessalonians 2:16

🌷 Be Part of Something Hope-Filled

Everyone knows a child who has gone through loss or an adult who has never dealt with the loss of a loved one. On May 12, And the Sun Came Up: A True Story of Grief and Hope is released into the world, and I am inviting YOU to read it or share it with someone you know who could benefit from it.

• If you have a heart for children walking through grief…

• If you believe in helping families grow stronger through faith…

• If you know an adult who struggles to get through a loss from early in life…

✨ I would be honored for you to share this book.

By doing this, you will:

• ✨ Help share hope with families who need it most

• ✨ Play a meaningful role in bringing this message to children

• ✨ Promote a faith-based outlook on the grief we all deal with at some point in life

Children walking through grief need hope, and you can help place it in their hands.

🌿 I would love for you to be part of this hope-filled journey. After reading it, your sharing on social media and reviews on Amazon, Goodreads, and other platforms are extremely important to getting this book into the hands of children who need the hope it brings.

Following are some links where you can preorder my book. Preorders are important as they push the book to where it is seen more often by those who need it.

Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/s?k=Mary%20Grace%20Johnson...

Publisher: https://www.hopebooksstore.com/.../and-the-sun-came-up-a...

Barnes & Noble: https://www.barnesandnoble.com/.../And%20the%20Sun%20Came...

Walmart: https://www.walmart.com/search?q=And+the+Sun+Came+Up+book

Books-a-Million: https://www.booksamillion.com/.../Mary.../9798891852730