Have you ever wished to be somewhere else?  To live somewhere else?  To work somewhere else?  To have different gifts, talents and abilities?  To be more like someone else?  To have different circumstances in life?

I would be lying if I answered no to any of those questions.  I have to admit that I have often wanted, longed for and dreamed of changes in my circumstances.  I have wished many times that I could be one of the beautiful and well put together women.  Graceful and patient under pressure.  Confident answer to every question.  Appropriate etiquette in every situation.  Loved, adored and cherished by everyone I meet.

I generally look more like a windblown mess without any make-up.  I crack and cry under pressure.  I get nervous and babble.  The first thing I speak often requires retraction and apology.  Many situations baffle me because I have no idea what I should do in them.  Believe me, there are plenty out there who find me annoying, irritating and well hold me in great disgust rather than in high regard.

Here’s the truthful reality.  I am a beautiful mess.  I have amazing strengths and talents.  I also have many weaknesses.  I am mostly a work in progress.  While I would often times love to be in a different place, this is where I am.  Right here and right now.

Could I change that?  Well, yes.  I could go get in my van right now and drive away.  Should I do that?  No, because I do not feel that God has called me to that.  In fact, I feel completely the opposite.  I feel God has planted me right here in this time and this place, commanding me to stay.  I have acted of my own accord too many times, so I know how painful it is to be in direct disobedience to what the Lord asks.  I try to stray as little as possible (though I still do get myself into some sticky situations).

What if instead of always trying to get somewhere else or to be somewhere else or to do something else, I bloomed into who God created me to be so that I could bless others right where I am at?  Right here, where I am now physically, mentally, emotionally, financially, spiritually.

What if I held to and lived this verse:  “And make it your ambition to lead a quiet life: You should mind your own business and work with your hands, just as we told you.”  1 Thessalonians 4:11 (NIV).

My ambition, my desire, the object that I seek after, and the thing I pour my energy out for is to lead a quiet life.  No noise, no sound, nothing disturbing.  That sure is the opposite of the world.  Fame isn’t quiet, followers bring noise with them, and to be in high demand is to be disturbed at all hours of the day and night.

Mind my own business.  God has asked me to care for, tend to, look after and be concerned for the work that He has given me.  Which, many times, is not often what I have asked to do, but it is what I have been assigned to do.  It is to look at what is in front of me, not in front of others, to press on and persevere.  I must give what I have in this time and this place to this work.

God has called me to many different things in my life, some for short seasons, others for much more.  I can not even imagine what lies in store for the rest of my days.  Sometimes I have avoided what He has called me to.  Sometimes I haven’t had a clue what He is asking for.  Other times I am sure of it, but it seems crazy to myself & to everyone around me.

The Lord is so faithful in creating opportunities each and every day for me to bloom and bless right where I am at.

I love daisies.  They are such a simple flower.  They are not exotic and overly elegant.  If you get them started, they tend to be pretty hearty, and keep on doing their thing – they bloom and bless where they are at.  They even multiply pretty well.  They are my favorite flower.  Did I mention how much I love daisies?

What if we could all do that?  What if we could all bloom right in the place we are now and bless those who are currently around us?  What if that is what we could pour our energy, care and concern into instead of wishing for different circumstances?  What if we were to mind our own business?

Where are you at right now?  What is your “business”?  What or who has God give you to tend to and to care for?  A family?  A household?  Animals?  Children?  Employees?  Tasks?  A trade?  Commerce?  Production?  Friendships?  Colleagues?   Clients?

How can you bloom and become the best version of yourself today?  How can you really live out who God made you to be?  How can you bless those around you?

You have incredible gifts and talents.  You have been so intricately designed for the time and place that God has you in right now.  Take it one step at a time my dear.  Look to God to help you in each situation and in every moment.  He is the tender gardener with the perfect hand for helping you to bloom and bless.  Every time God walks through His garden and sees you blooming, you make the Lord of heaven and earth smile.  That is amazingly incredible.

Dear and Beloved Lord,

Thank You so much for tending to each of us in such loving ways.  Lord, thank You for placing us where we are at.  Please help us to have a new appreciation and contentment for our place in life.  Please help us to quietly tend to the work that You have given us.  May we blossom and come vibrantly into full bloom here and now.  

Lord, please help us to have hearts that long to bless those around us in the places that we are at.  Help us to seek to spur one another on in love with acts of goodness for their benefit.  May we experience a rich blessing of our own, with sweet sleep at the end of the day, knowing that our ambition, our focus and our attention was paid to that which is directly in front of us and not an imagined illusion of what we think we want.  

Please, Lord, help each of my readers to feel beautiful as they bloom today.  Help them to not be overcome by negative thoughts but instead as they focus outwardly on You, may they feel renewed and refreshed with unexplainable joy that quietly resonates through their souls.  Thank You, Lord for those who press on with me and who bless me in outstanding ways just by reading these words.

In the mindful name of Jesus, amen.