Jack had his beanstalk. But here in the Midwest? We had the 57th Street Corn.

It sprouted, of all places, through a crack in the concrete at a busy intersection on 57th Street in Sioux Falls, South Dakota. Everyone was talking about the 57^th Street Corn. People took selfies with it. Someone made a Twitter account for it. Local news crews even showed up with cameras.

I know what you’re thinking: “You must have a lot of slow news days in the Midwest.” Maybe so. But I couldn’t get enough of it. Honestly, people all over our part of the world fell in love with that lone corn stalk. (Or, as some called it, “corn on the curb.”) Walkers and joggers even stopped to water it during their daily exercise routes. Against all odds, it actually grew an ear of corn.

Here’s why I think we were all so captivated by the 57^th Street Corn:

All summer long, that scrappy stalk became more than a roadside oddity. It became a symbol of resilience and hope. This little miracle of a plant showed us all what it means to bloom where you’re planted — despite the conditions and despite the hardships of life.

I need that reminder. Maybe you do, too. Because sometimes we find ourselves planted in circumstances we didn’t choose — seasons of loss, disappointment, dryness, or storm. And it’s easy to believe that nothing good can grow from there.

If I were the 57^th Street Corn, I would’ve asked questions like:

Why have I been planted in such a hard place when everyone else got planted in a lush field?

Why am I growing so slowly?                                                                                   

Will I ever see a harvest?

I would have thought, “This growth is taking forever!”  

Scripture offers hope to those of us who are planted in a hard place. The Bible is filled with people who were planted in difficulty and still grew in faith. Paul, for example, endured beatings, shipwrecks, imprisonment, hunger, and sleepless nights (2 Corinthians 11:22–27). Yet he didn’t give up. In fact, he wrote much of the New Testament from some very hard places.

Paul would even write these astonishing words from prison:

“I have learned how to be content with whatever I have… For I can do everything through Christ, who gives me strength.”
Philippians 4:11–13 NIV

Even more, Jesus understands what it’s like to grow in adversity, to grow out of a hard and dry place. Before Jesus was born, the prophet Isaiah wrote of the Savior:

“He grew up before him like a tender shoot, and like a root out of dry ground.”
Isaiah 53:2 NIV

Yes, Jesus gets it.

Friend, you’re not alone in the hard places you’ve been planted. God is with you. And He’s not just helping you survive — He’s helping you grow strong, deep, and resilient.

So look upon your field. Even now, He’s growing good things in you.

And maybe, just maybe, you’re like the 57th Street Corn.

You didn’t choose the sidewalk. You didn’t ask for the concrete. But there you are … stretching toward the sun anyway, defying the odds and reminding the world that with God, growth is possible anywhere.

You’re not stuck. You’re planted.

And something beautiful is going to bloom.

If you’ve been planted in a hard place and feel like growth is slow, we think you’d like Jennifer’s book, Growing Slow.

 

Listen to Jennifer’s devotion here or wherever you stream the (in)courage podcast!

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