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We've all been there...things aren't quite moving along the way we had hoped and we feel motionless and maybe alone. This summer has been a time of solitude on the rocks of life. Our plans for our Homesteading Cottage have taken some unsuspecting turns. Things are moving...I know they are...but it doesn't feel like it. I know God is organizing my world in a way I never imagined, but this place of getting used to new ropes feels awkward...like a baby taking her first steps.
Be prepared when you ask God to rock your world (; Over the last year, almost two, I've asked for a great deal from Him. A change of heart, mind, focus...these things do not align themselves lightly especially when hurt is involved. It usually requires giving ourselves over to something greater instead of giving in to our first instincts.
I'm a warrior and don't like it when wrongs are played out. It's even harder when ones I love are hurt. But life isn't always pretty. Bad things happen...and sometimes to us. People hurt us...some are even set out on doing us harm. People we love may be hurt by others who can't seem to remove themselves from their "me-centric" worlds to notice. Even when confronted with the reality of what they are doing, they still don't see it. And so we grieve. We grieve for those who have been hurt...and we grieve for ourselves. Mostly we grieve for what could have been...that unattainable "what-if" that we use as persistent torture.
But that "what-if" or "what could be" isn't here now, nor will it ever be and so we must strengthen our souls with the beauty that is already here. I've found that these seemingly motionless times of solitude is where our greatest work is done. It causes us to press into something that we never imagined before. It's during these times when we find ourselves walking on water and doing the unimaginable...but it requires the awkwardness of those first few steps of faith.
If you're experiencing a time of transition, great change or loneliness, just know that something greater is right around the corner. Maybe your world has been totally turned upside down and you can't see anything but destruction. Grieve and mourn, but warm yourself by the fires of hope. This warmth allows an open door for miracles to move. It may seem impossible, but just know that something beautiful can rise from those ashes if you let it...
"To those who have sorrow in Zion I will give them a crown of beauty instead of ashes. I will give them the oil of joy instead of sorrow, and a spirit of praise instead of a spirit of no hope. Then they will be called oaks that are right with God, planted by the Lord, that He may be honored." Isaiah 61:3
With Gratitude,
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