Bloom Where You’re Planted!

I love the TRUTH of the phrase, "Bloom Where You're Planted", and all the various opportunities in which to bloom for the Lord!

I praise the Lord for those serving the Lord and others in foreign countries.  I marvel at the work missionaries accomplish.  They're my "spiritual heroes"! 

I praise the Lord for those serving the Lord and others in their local churches as pastors, Sunday school teachers, deacons, nursery workers, etc. 

I praise the Lord for those who take the Gospel to the inmates in the prisons. 

I praise the Lord for the men and women who witness for the Lord each and every day while "on the job".

But what about people like myself?

Those of us who have a difficult time just making it to a church service due to a chronic illness?  

Are we exempt from serving the Lord and others?

Are we to just sit on the sidelines as others do all the work? 

Do we write ourselves off as useless for the Lord and His Kingdom?

Please listen to my answer and listen very carefully!

The answer is...

And I can say that from personal experience and mean it!

Remember the title of this post, "Bloom Where You're Planted!"  

Please don’t throw your hands up in defeat and say, "What's the use?”  

I’ve been there one too many times.

Discouraged on more than one occasion because of needing to lay down the many opportunities which had been given to me over the years to serve the Lord and others.  

Until little by little, I realized the Lord can still use me to be a blessing to others and glorify my Saviour, even if I never step foot outside my front door!

I pray these suggestions will show you the Lord can, and WILL, use you despite your circumstances.  Or a better way to phrase it would be.

The Lord will use you DUE to your circumstances, IF you allow Him!

Pray
So often in the past I would catch myself saying, "All I can do some days is lay in my bed and pray for others!"  I viewed prayer as one of the least ways of serving the Lord and others.  Not too sure where I ever picked up that lie?  

I've come to discover that prayer IS the greatest ministry.

Text Messages and Email
Since we are living in the world of digital communication, take the opportunity to send a text message to some friends whom you know may be struggling.  

I know the sheer delight a single text message brings to my heart.  

Send a brief message by email, but better yet is a free e-card!  They are available through DaySpring and CrossCards.  They cost nothing, and the impact it will make on the receiver will also be priceless!

Meals and Treats
If you are physically able, why not make a meal for a new mom and her family or for someone who is recovering from a hospital stay.  It certainly doesn’t need to be anything fancy.  A very simple salad and bowl of spaghetti goes a long way!

Bake a cake or some cookies, brew some coffee and then invite one of your neighbors over for a visit. Maybe, just maybe, the conversation will turn towards the Lord!

Mail Gospel Tracts
One of the main responsibilities of a believer is to tell others about Jesus so they, too, can have a personal relationship with Him.  That can be a bit challenging when you can't get out of your house very often!  

BUT wait, there IS a way to get the Gospel to others without leaving your home!  

Here's what I do!  

I begin with a letter explaining the Gospel.  I then type names and addresses from our local phonebook, or from the online phonebook, onto envelopes, enclose one or two Gospel tracts, seal the envelopes, put a stamp on them, and away they go!  I don't have a clue who the recipients are, but the Lord does!  No, I don't usually receive responses back as to whether people trusted Christ or not, but that's okay, I can wait until Heaven to see the results!

If you're not computer savvy, no worries, you can still make this work for yourself!  Either hand write the letter, or you can forget about the letter all together.  Don't type the names and addresses onto the envelopes, hand write them!  See, I got ya covered!  

Church Bulletins
If your church provides bulletins on Sunday mornings, call and ask your church secretary if she needs help folding them.  I can almost guarantee her answer will be, "Yes!"

A Phone Call
If you really want to brighten up a person's day, pick up your phone and make a call!  I know in the days which we are living, that sounds a bit ancient!  To a person who is mostly homebound, hearing someone's actual voice is like finding water in a dry and barren land!  

Even if your friend is unable to answer their phone, leave them a message.  I kid you not, I actually have eighteen voice messages saved on my phone!

Messages from my husband, granddaughter, son, daughter-in-law, pastor and friends.  I was unable to answer my phone, but they left me messages!  

On days when the quietness and loneliness becomes suffocating, I listen to those messages and, oh, how they soothe my soul!

Your Talents
Perhaps you knit, crochet or cross stitch.  Maybe you make cards.  You may like to draw, paint or create your own jewelry.  Whatever your talent may be, you probably see it as just a hobby or as a means to pass the time, but the Lord sees it as an opportunity to bless others.  

Crochet dish rags or potholders for the ladies of your church as a "just because" gift!  You might be able to cross stitch bookmarks as Christmas presents to be distributed throughout your local nursing home.  Paint little trinkets for the children at your church.  Make some beaded jewelry for the teen girls in your daughter's or granddaughter's class at school.  

Send a Card
Even though a majority of our communication is done by digital devices, believe it or not the mailman still does deliver communication via the mailbox!

What a ray of sunshine when mingled amongst the bills and junk mail there's a card with your name handwritten on the front of the envelope!

It turns a hum-drum day into an extraordinary day!

It's like opening an envelope of joy!

So just because you may not be able to get out and about, PLEASE DO NOT buy into the lie the enemy wants you to believe that you are of no use for the Lord and for others.

YOU CAN
BLOOM WHERE
YOU'RE PLANTED! 

"I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service."
Romans 12:1

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May God Bless You,

Barb