Leaving The 99 To Find The 1: Yellow Flower Ministering -

Leaving the 99 to find the 1 can be accomplished in many ways, but I wasn’t expecting this.

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The Surprise

It’s not often that my world comes to a complete standstill at the sight of yellow flowers.

On this particular Wednesday, however, it did.

The dishes were piled high in the sink, the aroma of our evening meal still in the air, when the doorbell rang.

Ding! Ding!

Weary from a long day, I slowly made my way to the front door and peered out the peephole.

The sight of soft yellow flower petals startled me.

“Who in the world is bringing me flowers?” I wondered aloud, unlocking the door and opening it with anticipation.

Leaving The 99

Standing on the porch was a friend I hadn’t seen in months, a young mother with a large family and a very busy schedule.

“Hey there!” she said nonchalantly, “I haven’t seen you in a while so I thought I’d stop by and say hi.”

“Really?” I asked, feeling a bit bewildered, “and you brought me flowers, too?” I smiled broadly as she nodded and handed me the vase of “yellow sunshine”.

“Thank you!” I gushed, still trying to make sense of this pleasant surprise. “Would you like to come in and visit for a few minutes?” I asked, certain that she would say no.

After all, she had a houseful of children at home who were likely missing her terribly.

“Sure,” she said without hesitation.

“Oh, wonderful!” I replied, grateful for this unexpected opportunity to visit with a friend.

The issues of life

Making our way into the living room, I set the vase of flowers on a table before she and I settled in on the couch.

The conversation was vague at first.

“How are you?“

“How is your family?“

“How’s life treating you?”

But before long we found ourselves talking about “real” issues:

school
challenges with our children
relationship difficulties with friends and family
our fears
our faith in God

You know…the real issues of life.

She talked and I listened.

Then I talked and she listened.

Who knew that talking with someone who cared was exactly what I needed in that moment?

Somehow, she did.

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The One

“What made you come to my house tonight,” I finally asked, genuinely desiring to know the reason for her unselfish act. “I mean, you’re a busy mom, and you just spent two hours in my home. Why? What made you do it?”

She looked at me with wide eyes.

“Well, last week you kept coming to mind,” she said thoughtfully. “I kept thinking, ‘I haven’t seen _____ in a while. I should stop by for a visit,‘ but I kept pushing the thought from my mind.

Then today, the thought came again, only more powerfully this time. It said, ‘Leave your kids with your husband, buy _____ flowers, and go visit her.’

The prompting was so strong that I couldn’t ignore it this time.

I explained the situation to my husband and asked if he would watch the children.

Then I bought some flowers at the store, and here I am.”

She paused, looking a bit uncomfortable, and then continued, “To be honest, it felt awkward standing on your doorstep with flowers. I had no idea what I was going to say to you when you opened the door. I just knew that I needed to come to your house with flowers.”

She stopped talking and looked at me expectantly.

Yellow Sunshine

“Did you know that flowers are my absolute favorite gift to receive? I asked, my voice soft and low.

“No,” she said, looking surprised.

“Well, they are,” I said with a grateful smile.

Feeling emotional, I thought about the power of promptings–-the blessings that come from listening to and heeding the inner voice we each have inside.

I reflected on a time several months earlier when I had followed through with an impression to give yellow flowers to a stranger in a parking lot, and how much that experience affected me.

Now, I was the recipient of such an act.

As the evening wore on, my friend and I concluded our heartfelt discussion with a hug—the kind of hug that occurs when true connection has taken place between two individuals.

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Ministering as True Disciples of Jesus Christ

My friend reminded me what it means to be a true disciple of Christ. She ministered as Christ did when He was on the earth, leaving the 99 to find the 1. She chose to act on inspiration and nurture authentic friendships.

It’s been said that the best evidence of our adoration of Jesus is our emulation of Him.

That night, my friend’s adoration of Jesus shone through, for she emulated Him well by leaving the 99 in search of the 1.

Life can be chaotic, but when we leave margin in our lives, we open the way to receive guidance from that inner voice—inspiration from a higher power that will lead us to bless the lives of those around us in simple yet profound ways.

We have but to listen to and act upon those promptings.

The world is in need of more evidence of our adoration of Jesus.

The yellow flowers are optional.

“Sometimes we think we have to do something grand and heroic to ‘count’ as serving our neighbors. Yet simple acts of service can have profound effects on others — as well as on ourselves. What did the Savior do? Through His supernal gifts of the Atonement and Resurrection — which we celebrate on this beautiful Easter Sunday — ‘none other has had so profound an influence (on) all who have lived and who will yet live upon the earth’ (“The Living Christ: The Testimony of the Apostles”). But He also smiled at, talked with, walked with, listened to, made time for, encouraged, taught, fed, and forgave. He served family and friends, neighbors and strangers alike, and He invited acquaintances and loved ones to enjoy the rich blessings of His gospel. Those simple acts of service and love provide a template for our ministering today.

“As you have the privilege to represent the Savior in your ministering efforts, ask yourself, ‘How can I share the light of the gospel with this individual or family? What is the Spirit inspiring me to do?’

“Ministering can be done in a great variety of individualized ways.”

Sister Jean B. Bingham, Relief Society general president, April 2018 general conference

Book Recommendation

This post answers a question found in the book “The 15 Invaluable Laws of Growth” by John C. Maxwell:

“Who shares the load in pressurized moments without being asked?”

Reach your potential

Discover 19 invaluable laws of growth in this popular book by John C. Maxwell. Be sure to check out the other books in this series.

Learn more