LIFE IN BLOOM

Learning How to Flourish in God's Grace

Tag Archives: growth


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Your Witness- Lift Him Up!

“Oh! the world is hungry for the Living Bread, Lift the Savior up for them to see; Trust Him, and do not doubt the words that He said, “I’ll draw all men unto Me.”…Lift Him up by living as a Christian ought, Let the world in you the Savior see; Then men will gladly follow Him Who once taught, “I’ll draw all men unto Me.”…”

There’s power in our witness.  I’ve learned many things in my walk with Christ, but this always seems to resonate.  Sharing our testimony isn’t easy, nor is being a witness, but there’s power there and it’s necessary.

I’ve shared my testimony here before, expressed through a spoken word that I performed at my church years ago.  And while that testimony still has power, there have been more testimonies since then.  There have been more things that have happened in my life where I’m able to witness and testify to the power of God.  And it’s important to note that, because sometimes we view our testimonies as this stagnant “thing” that doesn’t change.  But as God continues to work through us, we have more things to witness and testify about.  Our lives are the sum of many, many testimony and witness experiences woven together and orchestrated by God.  And we have to share them.

I missed an opportunity to witness and was SO disappointed in myself.  Well, let me not say I missed the opportunity.  It wasn’t like it was a bus that came, and I was late.  But an opportunity to witness opened up, and I chose not to share.  Why? Perhaps out of fear.  Perhaps because I didn’t view that the time and place was appropriate. I can’t exactly pinpoint the reason that I chose NOT to share, but as soon as the moment was over, I was disappointed.  Not only because I misrepresented myself, but I also misrepresented God in my failure to share His truths with someone else.

The writer of the hymn “How to Reach the Masses” (quoted above) is right- the WORLD is hungry for the living bread.  We should always be ready to serve that living bread to others.  Many people won’t go to church, but they will observe us and our life.  We add power to that observation when we share our witness and testimony.

Lebron James had it right- we are ALL witnesses.  But what will we witness and testify to? I’m committed to being a witness and sharing the testimony of how God’s love, grace, mercy, and favor have changed my life.  And I believe that as I share that testimony with faith and conviction, lives will be changed.

It’s not about how I became better.  It’s about WHO made me better.  To God be the glory for the things He has done.

“And I, if I be lifted up from the earth, will draw all men unto me.” – John 12:32 (KJV)


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Painfully Blossom

“There came a time when the risk to remain tight in the bud was more painful than the risk it took to blossom.” – Anais Nin

I think that I’ve said here before that I don’t like change.  It’s not that I hate it, but once I establish a routine that really works, it becomes difficult for me to embrace ANYTHING that throws off my routine.  If I’m at work and I’ve decided that I’m going to go to lunch at 1:00pm, anything that comes up after about 12:45pm that could potentially throw off my plans is really difficult for me to handle.  I generally follow the same routine to get dressed in the morning and I take the same path to work each day.  When I go to restaurants, I typically order the same meal.  I can be a creature of habit and routine.

It would be great if life would cater to me and my lack of desire to change.  Oh how wonderful that could be.  But it could also be boring, painful, and growth-stunting.

While there are times in our life where we are able to change before the situation necessitates it, those times are few.  As much as we’d all like to believe that we are flexible, I think that if we are honest with ourselves, we can admit that change makes us uncomfortable. And, I think that we can also admit that some of the times where we were truly moved to change was because of pain.  Sometimes it was pain that was our fault, sometimes it was pain inflicted on us by others.  Regardless of the root of the pain, it facilitated a change needed in our lives to help us grow and blossom into who we are now.

There’s also a pain that comes through growth.  This pain may or may not be facilitated or inflicted by ourselves or others.  It’s just that as we continue to move towards who we are called to be, it necessitates that we change. And there’s a point where we have to ask ourselves- would I rather endure the pain of NOT CHANGING and live my life in the comfort zone, or would I rather embrace the pain that comes with change and push myself into the growth zone?

I love the quote that at the beginning because it reminds me that while the change and risk may be painful, it is nothing compared to the pain that may come from refusing to change.  And this isn’t just physical pain.  There’s the pain that comes with knowing that you missed opportunities for growth or success because of a refusal to step outside of your comfort zone.  More than anything, Lord, help us to stay out of our own way.  

That’s really what it comes down to.  When we neglect to change, we’re really standing in our own way of what has been promised to us.  My prayer is that our faith and level of expectation be increased so that we will be willing to do what God asks of us to bring forth the results He desires from us.  It won’t be easy, but it will be worth it.

Be encouraged.  Be faithful.  Be fearless.  Be changed.