The church was packed for the Easter Sunday sermon that Reverend Pat Henry was about to deliver. It has been said that Rev. Pat has the gift to heal the sick through prayer.

Many years ago I was in the hospital recuperating from abdominal surgery and experiencing great pain in the process. With the laying of the hands Rev. Pat prayed over me, and when he left my hospital room that afternoon I remember feeling a calmness wash over me that I’d never felt before.

So there I was, years later, fully recuperated and healthy, surrounded by the beauty of Easter lillies, but feeling a bit depleted in spirit. As a writer my creative confidence was on the wane. I hadn’t written anything fulfilling in weeks, which left a jumble of mix – matched stirrings that had no focus, only a source of frustration as I’d sit down to a blank computer screen.

When Rev. Pat finished reading the Gospel that Easter Sunday morning, he stepped away from the podium and walked towards the center aisle of church. With out-stretched arms he faced the standing room only crowd of church goers and simply said: “BLOSSOM WHERE YOU ARE.” He then bowed his head for a moment and returned to the altar. There was no lengthy sermon, just four little words that spoke volumes to my depressed outlook. And in that moment I realized that God had done it again!

Whenever I doubt myself, as I did that morning, I ask God for a sign and He never disappoints in sending me a message that lifts me up and keeps me going. It was then that I was reminded just how blessed I truly am. Thanks to His gentle nudging I have persevered in my writing career, even though there are times I still imagine my mentors fulfilling every moment of their lives with a wealth of creativity.

God has given me a gift, blessing me with a love for words and a venue to share what’s in my heart. And when I doubt my abilities He finds a way to reach my heart and touch my soul, as He did with the soft spoken Reverend whose healing came with the words to lift my sagging spirit.

We cannot look to others to define ourselves. We all possess the rays of hope and potential that cause our own personal stars to shine. How brightly they shine is up to us.

The Lord chose the day we celebrate Jesus’ rising from the dead to compekl me to rise above my own stale set of circumstances that were weighing me down. “BLOSSOM WHERE YOU ARE!” Those words of wisdom give me reason to look in the mirror each morning and thank God for His constant guidance and for His unending patience to help me to not only accept the person I am, but to strive to be the best of who I’ve yet to become ~so that I may fully appreciate the person I’m meant to be.

(c) 2004 Kathy Whirity

Kathy Whirity lives in Chicago where she shares her life and love with her husband of 28 years, Bill, their two daughters, Jaime and Katie, and two rambunctious retrievers, Holly and Hannah. Kathy is a family life columnist for two area newspapers. Kathywhirity@yahoo.com http://www.heartwarmers4u.com/members?kathyw