Bloom Where You Are Planted

Bloom where you are planted.  Have you ever heard this phrase?  I can remember as a little girl seeing that phrase hanging on a plaque in our kitchen.  Back then I was pretty indifferent about the message.  My days were filled with mud pies, sail boats on the Chesapeake, lighting bugs, and time with my best friend.  My life was good, my heart was happy and I felt secure.  Just the other day I saw this message again, but this time as an adult...who has been planted in a place that is definitely not my choosing.   

I know many of you are wondering (since I have been absent in my blog for several weeks) about the outcome of Ryan's trip to Thailand.  Are we being asked to jump into full time missions in Chiang Mai?  The answer was no, not full-time.  We are so thankful that the Lord was clear and for your prayers on our behalf.  Though Jesus was very clear, it was extremely hard for Ryan to accept the first few days as his heart had been captured by the girls at the orphanage and to be honest, we were ready for the transplant to our next garden!  Our friends did get the green light and are raising support to go full-time.  If you are interested in hearing more about their family and ministry, please visit destinedtraveler.com. We hope to take our family, and maybe a team, over to help with the fish pond project so the girls can have a larger income stream for the orphanage.

And so we continue to live in the garden of waiting.  Though much of my happy comforts have been stripped away, Jesus has taken us into deep soils.  I fought Him on this and I'm sure I will still have my days, but I now see His goodness in placing us here.  The garden of waiting is filled with the deep soil of His presence, His love, and His faithfulness.  We long to absorb these truths and be transformed by them.  To the praise of His glorious grace.  Please continue to pray for us as we watch and listen and hopefully learn to follow Jesus wherever we are.  To bloom where we are planted.  At least I am hearing the message now.

"When my heart was grieved and my spirit embittered,
I was senseless and ignorant;
I was a brute beast before you.

Yet I am always with you;
You hold me by my right hand.
You guide me with your counsel,
and afterwards you will take me into glory.

Whom have I in heaven but You?
And earth has nothing I desire besides You.
My flesh and my heart may fail,
but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever."
Psalm 73:21-26

"And now, just as you accepted Christ Jesus as your Lord, you must continue to live in obedience to Him.  Let your roots grow down into Him and draw up nourishment from Him, so you will grow in faith, strong and vigorous in the truth you were taught.  Let your lives overflow with thanksgiving for all He has done."
Colossians 2:6-7