Tuesday, August 15, 2017

Brighten the Corner Where you Are






Brighten the Corner Where You Are
~ Helen Steiner Rice ~ 


We cannot all be famous
Or be listed in “Who’s Who,”
But every person great or small
Has important work to do,

For seldom do we realize
The importance of small deeds
Or to what degree of greatness
Unnoticed kindness leads—

For it’s not the big celebrity
In a world of fame and praise,
But it’s doing unpretentiously
In undistinguished ways

The work that God assigned to us,
Unimportant as it seems,
That makes our task outstanding
And brings reality to dreams—

So do not sit and idly wish
For wider, new dimensions
Where you can put in practice
Your many “good intentions”—

But at the spot God placed you
Begin at once to do
Little things to brighten up
The lives surrounding you,

For if everybody brightened up
The spot on which they’re standing
By being more considerate
And a little less demanding,

This dark old world would very soon
Eclipse the “Evening Star”
If everybody brightened up
The corner where they are!


I thought the expression "bloom where you're planted" went hand in hand with this poem by Helen Steiner Rice. No matter our circumstances, living arrangements, status in society, or financial means - we can be used by God. Ask Him how and He'll open quiet opportunities that will bless you and others in abundance.

I remember a time I was visiting in a nursing home. I saw a woman in a wheelchair with her head hung down, looking at the floor.  She lifted her head and looked around a bit. When our eyes met, I smiled at her. Her countenance changed before me and she lit up with a broad grin as if she were in the midst of a beautiful garden of flowers and birds. I'll never forget that. A small insignificant act on my part seemed to make such a difference in someone's day.

Why not look for opportunities to brighten the corner where you are. Have a blessed day my friends. 

6 comments:

  1. Great reminder! So often it's the little things that make a day more bearable for someone.

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  2. I loved Helen Steiner Rice poems when I was a child. This one is very encouraging! Thanks for posting this and have a blessed day.

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  3. Beautiful graphic (as always) and wonderfully instructive and encouraging words. Thanks, Abby.

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  4. Such lovely things that cost us so little. Alas, I am not always present and so do not recognize the opportunity.

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  5. Thanks Abby! You challenge us to look for ways to serve that make others light up. Thank you.

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Your comments are blessings to my day.