All over town, there are seemingly countless daylilies dotting flower beds and lining driveways and lot lines. Many are small and yellow, growing in large bunches of identical blooms. Others are large and bright orange, standing proudly atop tall stalks. Still others are blends of crimson and gold, purple, or white—those can be quite spectacular.

Magnificent or simple, each daylily blossom lasts only a day. It closes in the evening and fades, replaced by others the next morning.

Our lives are a bit like that. Each day we have on this earth lasts for, well, only one day. We can’t change yesterday, and we aren’t guaranteed tomorrow. So, all we can do is live fully into today and, to quote a plaque my grandmother gave me as a little girl, “Bloom where you’re planted.”

Some of our days are like the big bunches of small, yellow lilies—ordinary, unremarkable, similar to many other days. But we can work to make even those days beautiful and special. Other days are like the bright orange or crimson or purple lilies—those are days of graduations, births, promotions, rainbows after storms, phone calls from old friends, family vacations. Those days are naturally more notable and beautiful. Hopefully on those days, we can pause to reflect on the joy of the moment and be grateful.

Of course, there are daylilies that fail to bloom because of lack of water, bug infestation, or being nibbled by hungry deer. Similarly, some of our days are filled with disappointment, illness, loss, and struggles. But just as a daylily plant has many blooms, appearing day after day, we can hope for another new day and pray it blooms a little brighter.