God Here, I Have Something to Say

Have you ever had a moment where you knew, straight up beyond a shadow of a doubt, that God was talking and confirming all the whispers you knew you were hearing all along, just to let you know that YES, you are on the right path, YES, that was me whispering, NO you are not forgotten!
If you are reading this you likely read my last post, Bloom Where You Are Planted.  Well, today I'd like to share something that was total confirmation in a way that gave me goosebumps.  It comes from the blog of Meredith Andrews, one of my favorite Christian worship artists.  She was writing about her experience of winning her first (two) Dove Awards this year...and finding out while in her pajamas at home feeding her baby.  This is what she wrote at the end of her post:

I share this with you not because I seek congratulations or accolades, for God has used this honor to bring about in me a renewed humility and gratitude, and I am again reminded that my only boast is in the cross. I say all this to encourage YOU, wherever you may be in your life. God has not forgotten you. He hasn't changed His mind concerning you. Romans 11:29 says, "God's gifts and his call are irrevocable." Philippians 1:6 says that we can be confident of this: "He who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Jesus Christ." He will see you through. He will finish what He started in you. And in me. We can be sure of it.

So let's continue to bloom where we're planted and be faithful in small things. Let us press in to know Him, to seek out His heart and pursue His presence. May our complete and every day surrender be the natural response to His life laid down for us. For as I was reminded by a good friend recently, we can never out-give the Giver. We can never out-do God. He is always standing by, ready to teach us, ready to bless us, ready to lavish His love upon us as a Father lavishes love on His children, not because we are deserving, but simply because He is good.

Bloom Where You Are

So lately I've kind of felt like I've been in a holding pattern in a lot of areas in life...lots of possibilities, but no real actualities.  Anybody who knows me knows it makes me nuts to "live in limbo".  I like decisions, realities, even if they are not decisions or realities that I particularly like.
One of the things that I've been pondering is this feeling like I need to stretch, like I've somehow outgrown my little corner or something.  Wondering what the next thing is.  But in the process, I forgot something important...everything God does is on purpose.  Where ever we are in life or even in actuality (right now I am in my living room), is on purpose.
We are not called to merely sit here and just kill time waiting for the "next big thing" or adventure.  No.  I saw a sign today driving home from my daughter's dentist appointment.  Like I said, there is nothing coincidental.  It simply said "Bloom Where You Are".  It caught my attention in a big way.  Whenever we start to think we have grown to small for the space we're in, and get caught up in what ISN'T happening in our lives, we are merely taking up space and wilting where God called us to bloom.  He is the gardener.  He is going to place us in the perfect space to do the blooming and growing.  He is not going to place us somewhere where we don't have enough room to do the amount of growing we need; on the contrary, He will put us in the perfect place.  If we are willing, He has called us to bloom where we are.
And if you are thinking, "Yeah, but..", consider this...have you ever considered picking a seed?  Or a sprout? Or a wilted flower?  I'm guessing not.  But how often has a beautiful rose in bloom caught your eye?  Or that adorable daisy patch made you want to pick one?  They all bloom in different places.  But yet it's the full grown ones that catch our eye, that we want to pick.  If you don't bloom where you are, how are you going to catch anyone's attention?

And the attention we should be after, by the way, is that of the Gardener.  Oh how He longs to revel in us; oh, how we long to be reveled over, to be noticed and admired.  The only way to accomplish all of this is to bloom where you are.  :)