Tell me more...

This is a follow up from last week's heavy post.... my post about disease and poverty in our world... It got me thinking after I wrote that. If you read it and were upset, that's an ok feeling to have. It takes people getting riled up about things to make a change... remember the quote?

So here is what I wanted to say this week- there are SO many kids, so many people dying each day. And unfortunately many of them are in other countries, third world countries... we are so blessed to live here in a land where we have insurance, doctors, clean water, even an abundance of food! While I would LOVE to have a plan to go to a country like Haiti set in place to start making a difference, I don't. It's not in the life plan for my family right now. But that doesn't mean I can't do anything! Just because you can't go to Africa, Haiti, or India, or any country we see on t.v. with hungry sick babies doesn't mean that we can't make a difference.

I used to have a little banana leaf wall hanging that hung in my apartment in Haiti for years. It said Bloom Where You are Planted. Think about that for a second... bloom where you are planted. Not where you wish you were planted. Not where you used to be planted. where you ARE planted. I love that.

I bought some plants this past week. I am loving my garden. I am slowly building it up and make it beautiful. Part of this beauty comes from the flowers I am planting. White with yellow insides, orange petals, small delicate pink flowers, they all are so beautiful. I want them to bloom exactly where I plant them. That's my plan. That's what's going to make my garden perfect.

That's what our Father wants from us. He has orchestrated this magnificent beautiful garden of this world and he wants you/me to bloom where he puts us. And by bloom I mean- flourish, be active, involved, live. When we try to do this, it makes his garden so much more they way He intended it to be.

So, if you are blooming right where He has you, what are you doing? What are you doing to make a difference in your neighborhood? city? church? family? I'm not asking from a condemning attitude, but from one of encouragement. I'm working on this- I am working on being intentional about getting to know neighbors. My family has taken on some church commitments this next year. I am sharing at camp this summer. I know there is so much more to think about too... How exciting! We don't have to travel far to make a difference. It's all about being intentional, diligent, and willing to bloom.