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Blossom Where You Are
The church was packed for the Easter Sunday sermon that Reverend
Pat Henry was about to deliver. It has been said that Rev. Pat has
the gift to heal the sick through prayer. Many years ago I was in
the hospital recuperating from abdominal surgery and experiencing
great pain in the process. With the laying of the hands Rev. Pat
prayed over me, and when he left my hospital room that afternoon
I remember feeling a calmness wash over me that I'd never felt before.
So there I was, years later, fully recuperated and healthy surrounded
by the beauty of Easter lilies, but feeling a bit depleted in spirit.
As a writer my creative confidence was on the wane. I hadn't written
anything fulfilling in weeks, which left a jumble of mix - matched
stirrings that had no focus, only a source of frustration as I'd
sit down to a blank computer screen.
When Rev. Pat finished reading the Gospel that Easter Sunday morning,
he stepped away from the podium and walked towards the center aisle
of church. With out-stretched arms he faced the standing room only
crowd of churchgoers and simply said: "BLOSSOM WHERE YOU ARE."
He then bowed his head for a moment and returned to the altar. There
was no lengthy sermon, just four little words that spoke volumes
to my depressed outlook. And in that moment I realized that God
had done it again!
Whenever I doubt myself, as I did that morning, I ask God for a
sign and He never disappoints in sending me a message that lifts
me up and keeps me going. It was then that I was reminded just how
blessed I truly am. Thanks to His gentle nudging I have persevered
in my writing career, even though there are times I still imagine
my mentors fulfilling every moment of their lives with a wealth
of creativity.
God has given me a gift, blessing me with a love for words and a
venue to share what's in my heart. And when I doubt my abilities
He finds a way to reach my heart and touch my soul, as He did with
the soft spoken Reverend whose healing came with the words to lift
my sagging spirit.
We cannot look to others to define ourselves. We all possess the
rays of hope and potential that causes our own personal stars to
shine. How brightly they shine is up to us.
The Lord chose the day we celebrate Jesus' rising from the dead
to compel me to rise above my own stale set of circumstances that
were weighing me down. "BLOSSOM WHERE YOU ARE!" Those
words of wisdom give me reason to look in the mirror each morning
and thank God for His constant guidance and for His unending patience
to help me to not only accept the person I am, but to strive to
be the best of who I've yet to become ~so that I may fully appreciate
the person I'm meant to be. |
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