Grow where You’re Planted

These well-known verses are often quoted to encourage people to look to a better future and to seek God for the ‘special mission’ He has for them. Over the years I have come to believe that God does indeed have a special plan for us, but it might not be the great adventure on the mission field, or planting a new ministry - it could be living just where we are!

Having trained as an actress there was one thing I never wanted to do – teach drama, and guess what I ended up doing – teaching drama! I saw it as terrible failure at the time, though it wasn’t as if my acting career was reaching the high spots – not easy anyway, living in the remote north-west of England! I was very unhappy to begin with, but the chaplain at the school where I was teaching gave me some of the wisest advice I have ever had: ‘Grow where you’re planted.’

God did indeed have a plan for me and I believe I’m now fulfilling that plan, teaching and ministering to those in need, but I had to wait for fifteen years, learning how to teach, and, in the meantime, ‘growing where I was planted’. At the right time God gave me a gentle nudge and opened the door for me.

We can spend a lifetime waiting for that ‘special call’ from God and miss the opportunities that He offers us day by day in our homes, churches and communities.

Prayer: Dearest Father, Thank You that You have planted me where I am. Please open my eyes to the opportunites You offer me day by day to be light and salt to those around me. In Jesus’ precious Name, Amen.