My wife went walking earlier this week; and shortly thereafter, my phone started blowing up. She sent me the following picture, along with her accompanying observations, via text messages.
As you can see, it is now the spring of the year; and jonquils are springing up everywhere here in eastern Tennessee. A few weeks ago, the woods began to display patches of green against the brown backdrop of winter. Now, those patches of green have brought forth the beautiful yellow flowers that are so beautiful as they herald the coming of spring.
The picture she sent me shows a single jonquil blossom detached from the group of flowers some yards beyond it. Upon observing this, my wife texted me the following thoughts to ponder.
1. Sometimes we bloom with the bunch. 2. Sometimes we stand alone and bloom. 3. Notice the one standing alone in the light of the sun. Its blossom is much bigger and brighter than the ones in a bunch standing in the shade. 4. Why? Because last fall, when the utilities company put in the new water line and then graded our yard, it obviously got dragged out of its comfort zone and was forced to go it alone! 5. The point here is that we may not always like where all life takes us; but it is still important to bloom where we are planted.
How astute her observations were! And how applicable to each and every one of us! For my part, I can see how the picture above is a beautiful depiction of my life! Maybe you can relate.
After all, who among us cannot look back over our life and see those times when we were suddenly and inextricably wrenched from our moorings and deposited in some unfamiliar and perplexing new place. Maybe, when this happened, we were even made to feel quite uncomfortable.
And yet, with the passage of time, perhaps we came to realize that the entire ordeal was actually to our advantage. Once detached from our comfort zone, maybe we found ourselves forced to go it alone. And as scary as that was, maybe what came about as a result was miraculous. Maybe the whole experience helped to make us into the person we are. And maybe, just maybe, as a result of it all, we then shown forth in all the glory associated with the fulfillment of our God-given potential!
Again, I know I can relate. I trust you can.
Oh, and by the way. My wife added one last observation. She pointed out that even though the jonquils in the shaded patch off in the distance were now being out shown by the brave trailblazing one currently basking in its well-deserved glory out in the sun, they were still beautiful in their own right.
You see, even though they were each destined to bloom in the shade, and to be merely one among many as a result, they nonetheless mustered up the courage to bloom exactly where they too had been planted.
Kudos to my wife for her insight! Thank God for trailblazers. Whenever they arise, they tend to expand our borders and broaden our horizons. But in the end, they remain few and far between. By comparison, the vast majority of us live our lives in the relative comfort and anonymity of the crowd.
And yet, this too will always have value. For here, in the midst of our fellow men and women, we are called to live out our lives, and in the process, to manifest our God-given talents in such a way that we glorify our Creator by beautifying and enriching the world in which we live. No matter where we have planted, may we bloom and glorify the God Who placed us there!
In his First New Testament Letter to the Corinthians (chapter 10, verse 31), the Apostle Paul writes: “… Whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God.” Implicit in this is “wherever” and “whenever” and “however”, (and even though it may not technically be a word) “whyever”. No matter where or when or how or why you have been planted, find a way to shine forth and glorify the God who placed you there!
Abraham, who was taken from Ur to Canaan, did. Joseph, who was taken from Canaan to Egypt, did. Jeremiah, who was taken from Judah to Babylon, did. Daniel, who was taken from his home to the home of a heathen king, did. Paul, who was wrenched from his Jewish moorings and made the Apostle of the Gentiles, did. And the Apostle John, who was taken from his pastorate in Ephesus to imprisonment by the Romans on the isle of Patmos, did.
My wife took notice of a single jonquil doing much the same. Others will invariably take notice of you for doing much the same!
SCRIPTURE SOURCE: https://biblehub.com/1_corinthians/10-31.htm.
The picture she sent me shows a single jonquil blossom detached from the group of flowers some yards beyond it. Upon observing this, my wife texted me the following thoughts to ponder.
1. Sometimes we bloom with the bunch. 2. Sometimes we stand alone and bloom. 3. Notice the one standing alone in the light of the sun. Its blossom is much bigger and brighter than the ones in a bunch standing in the shade. 4. Why? Because last fall, when the utilities company put in the new water line and then graded our yard, it obviously got dragged out of its comfort zone and was forced to go it alone! 5. The point here is that we may not always like where all life takes us; but it is still important to bloom where we are planted.
How astute her observations were! And how applicable to each and every one of us! For my part, I can see how the picture above is a beautiful depiction of my life! Maybe you can relate.
After all, who among us cannot look back over our life and see those times when we were suddenly and inextricably wrenched from our moorings and deposited in some unfamiliar and perplexing new place. Maybe, when this happened, we were even made to feel quite uncomfortable.
And yet, with the passage of time, perhaps we came to realize that the entire ordeal was actually to our advantage. Once detached from our comfort zone, maybe we found ourselves forced to go it alone. And as scary as that was, maybe what came about as a result was miraculous. Maybe the whole experience helped to make us into the person we are. And maybe, just maybe, as a result of it all, we then shown forth in all the glory associated with the fulfillment of our God-given potential!
Again, I know I can relate. I trust you can.
Oh, and by the way. My wife added one last observation. She pointed out that even though the jonquils in the shaded patch off in the distance were now being out shown by the brave trailblazing one currently basking in its well-deserved glory out in the sun, they were still beautiful in their own right.
You see, even though they were each destined to bloom in the shade, and to be merely one among many as a result, they nonetheless mustered up the courage to bloom exactly where they too had been planted.
Kudos to my wife for her insight! Thank God for trailblazers. Whenever they arise, they tend to expand our borders and broaden our horizons. But in the end, they remain few and far between. By comparison, the vast majority of us live our lives in the relative comfort and anonymity of the crowd.
And yet, this too will always have value. For here, in the midst of our fellow men and women, we are called to live out our lives, and in the process, to manifest our God-given talents in such a way that we glorify our Creator by beautifying and enriching the world in which we live. No matter where we have planted, may we bloom and glorify the God Who placed us there!
In his First New Testament Letter to the Corinthians (chapter 10, verse 31), the Apostle Paul writes: “… Whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God.” Implicit in this is “wherever” and “whenever” and “however”, (and even though it may not technically be a word) “whyever”. No matter where or when or how or why you have been planted, find a way to shine forth and glorify the God who placed you there!
Abraham, who was taken from Ur to Canaan, did. Joseph, who was taken from Canaan to Egypt, did. Jeremiah, who was taken from Judah to Babylon, did. Daniel, who was taken from his home to the home of a heathen king, did. Paul, who was wrenched from his Jewish moorings and made the Apostle of the Gentiles, did. And the Apostle John, who was taken from his pastorate in Ephesus to imprisonment by the Romans on the isle of Patmos, did.
My wife took notice of a single jonquil doing much the same. Others will invariably take notice of you for doing much the same!
SCRIPTURE SOURCE: https://biblehub.com/1_corinthians/10-31.htm.