Life is such a ride sometimes, would you agree?  I am finding especially as I give up control and really listen for God’s voice and direction in my life the ride becomes more eventful and exciting.  I’ll be honest.  For me, I prefer a less exciting ride and maintaining “my control” keeps it nice and quiet and comfortable.

It was just a few short months ago when I was studying Genesis and Job, spending regular time with God and just basking in what He was teaching and revealing to me.  I truly loved and enjoyed the healing and closeness to God that came as a result.  That was like the incline to the top of the roller coaster- slow, steady and not a true picture of what was to come!

As I finished those two books, I took on the huge task of repairing our hallway, living room and kitchen ceilings and God’s instruction took on a new form as I listened to Bible teaching and music which fed and sustained me during that time and amazingly fit right into what I had been studying.  I was still on the incline.

And then the true ride began.  After beginning  some more remodeling upstairs providing the boys with their own rooms complete with doors thanks to the help of a friend and doing some demo downstairs as well, I discovered that a new little one was on the way.  Just a little before that discovery, our pipes froze  so we were without running water for about 6 weeks.

And so along with the 1st trimester struggles, life became a struggle as well.  Then I had to do life with out running water and with the nausea and exhaustion of pregnancy.  I wasn’t able to continue my spackling and finish the upstairs room drywall.  Thankfully it was to the point of just taping and doing the joint repair work but every night those gaping seams just stared at me.  Once the 1st trimester struggles ended, I struggled to catch up on all that had slipped past me and so May and June found me scrambling to finish all my business projects and house/gardening projects before summer started and the boys were done with school.

The ride of life has kept me in a place of chaos and struggling to keep my head above  water.  There is truly never a dull moment around here.

But the piece that simply cannot be overlooked is this.  The reality is that life is an ebb and flow.  During that time of sweet time with the Lord, He was beginning a work in me.  Then more trials came my way that stole that special time away from me and threw me into a dry period of time spiritually.  But what He had taught me during that sweet time with Him came back to me over and over as I went through the extra trials that burdened me and ministered to me.  What I had learned fed me through the dry time I experienced.

That is a lesson that could not have been learned in other more comfortable circumstances.  That was like the application part to the whole thing.  He taught me and showed me then asked me to trust Him and live it out.  Then He gently reminded me of what I learned, prompting me to apply those truths as I lived out life and rode that roller coaster.

Now, I’m not saying that that will happen every time we go through a time of closeness to God.  But I will say this.  Just like God created the four seasons in our natural world and rhythms in our days and weeks, we can expect those same patterns in our walk with Him.  We will have seasons of study and growth and times when things feel really dry.  Its during those times of dryness that we can look back and draw from what He has taught us in the nurturing times.  It is those dry times that we are able to truly experience His faithfulness and provision to us.  And it is precisely those dry times that invite us to draw near to Him again and seek His face.

Believe me, I was super thankful for the time I had spent with the Lord during those few intense months.  I became very aware that as He had done for the Isrealites in Egypt prior to the severe 7 year drought, He had done for me and provided nourishment for the dry period of time that I needed to walk through.

I have missed writing here and feel horrible about just falling off the face of the earth from my online home here.  Life has been a bit more that I could handle!  Things are still in chaos and are beginning to settle down but we are in a time of transition as a family and are continually seeking God for direction.  I am thankful that He sees the big picture and just asks us to seek, listen, trust and follow Him.

And then hang on for the ride!