The desert and the parched land will be glad; the wilderness will rejoice and blossom. Like the crocus, it will burst into bloom; it will rejoice greatly and shout for joy.

Isaiah 35:1-2

This last spring, Nancy took one of our house plants, a type of succulent, and planted it outside because it wasn’t doing well inside. Over the next few weeks it just seemed to wither and, though not dead, really looked horrible and about to die any minute. Deciding it was not worth working on, we just left it. A few weeks later, off in a corner about 2 feet away, one single lonely shoot of that plant was sprouting. As time passed, it continued to blossom and made that section of the garden look so much nicer and brighter. Perhaps you’re feeling kind of lonely when everything around you seems to be going wrong, or perhaps the people around you seemingly don’t care about you.

The Bible tells about a young girl who was captured and taken to another country. She became a maid for the wife of a foreign captain who had an incurable disease. The young maid told her mistress that if the captain was with the prophet in her home country, he could be healed. Naaman, the captain, believed the report, went to Elisha the prophet, and was cured of his leprosy (2 Kings 5). This young maid was a single blooming flower among the ‘parched’ people around her.

Joseph was put into prison for a crime he hadn’t committed. He could have become discouraged, but he continued doing what was right. Joseph was a ‘bright flower’ among the ‘parched land.’

We too can be a bright spot, a ‘flower’ if you will, of encouragement to people even though we don’t know them. If we see someone who looks lonely, let’s talk with that person. Just a smile may lift their spirit. Visit the elderly, sick, widows, widowers, and orphans that you know of. Send a letter or a card to someone who can’t get out much. Consider what you would want somebody to do for you, and do that for others. Ask God for wisdom to be truly encouraging. Show a genuine interest in people and pray for them. Your blooming spirit will be well rewarded.