Desserts to Gardens

For the past several days, John’s devotions (he is currently reading in the book of Isaiah) have gone hand in hand in with our current situation. It is though God is daily reminding us of His power, sovereignty and that He has everything in His control. Yesterday’s chapter was 51. As he was reading to me the verses that stood out to him, one in particular jumped out at me. It was verse 3. “The Lord will surely comfort Zion and will look with compassion on all her ruins; he will make her deserts like Eden, her wastelands like the garden of the Lord. Joy and gladness will be found in her, thanksgiving and the sound of singing.” When I was looking for a scripture verse to use to go hand in hand with my title for my blog page, this is the verse that fit so perfectly. Seeing how we don’t believe in chance or coincidence, I believe this was God speaking directly to us. This dessert that we are in right now will be turned into a flourishing garden and a testimony to God’s greatness.

Where Are We???

A few days ago, John said that he felt that we are in our dessert (well, gee wizz...if this is the dessert, where have we been???). He had been praying not long before he was fired, that he felt like he was in a place of bondage; his Egypt. He was praying for God to deliver him. Well, it looks like that was the case and that God has now delivered him from "Egypt". Oh boy...what to expect now? In his devotion today, he read Isaiah 48. The last three verses go, "20 Leave Babylon, flee from the Babylonians! Announce this with shouts of joy and proclaim it. Send it out to the ends of the earth; say, 'The LORD has redeemed his servant Jacob.' 21 They did not thirst when he led them through the deserts; he made water flow for them from the rock; he split the rock and water gushed out. 22"There is no peace," says the LORD, "for the wicked." So, here we are in the dessert having to depend on God to open the way for us and to provide for our needs. We just have to keep remembering to follow God so that we don't have to wander unnecessarily.

Be Faithful to Him and He will Be Faithful to You

Jeremiah Chapter 11
Vs. 4 & 5 "...Obey me and do everything I command you, and you will be my people, and I will be your God. Then I will fulfill the oath I swore to your forefathers, to give them a land flowing with milk and honey; the land you posses today [promised land]."
Vs. 7 & 8 "From the time I brought your forefathers up from Egypt until today, I warned them again and again, saying, 'Obey me.' But they did not listen or pay attention; instead, they followed the stubbornness of their evil hearts. So I brought on them all the curses of the covenant I had commanded them to follow but that they did not keep."
(Yesterday's in correspondence with this verse from today) Chapter 10: 24 "Correct me, Lord, but only with justice; not in your anger lest you reduce me to nothing." Chapter 11:20 "But, O Lord Almighty, you who judge righteously and test the heart and mind, let me see your vengeance upon them, for to you I have committed my cause."
What exactly is our promised land? Ultimately to be at a place of peace and to be being used for God's Glory (ministry in some way); to be the husband and wife to each other that we are to be and to be the parents to our children that we are to be. We have areas of calling on our lives. Today, I believe, we are standing together as a family at the edge of our promised land; the place that God has for us where we will have peace and be able to minister. Where we can heal and grow and flourish. We just have to keep walking and obeying God. Again, God is telling us to follow Him in all we do and to let go and let Him have His way over us and our situations. So often we plot and scheme of all the things we "wish" we could do to get even with those that hurt us. We "want" (I put it in quotes because it is my flesh not my heart that truly feels this way) for God to smack them and crush them because we are angry but we most certainly do not want God to take His wrath out on us when we do wrong. We have to remember that God is merciful and just. He gives them the same grace that He gives to us but when the time for vengeance comes, He does it justly and never out of anger. (A good example of how we should discipline our children; never out of anger but out of teaching and in a just and fitting way.)

From Egypt to the Dessert

Today John lost his job. It was expected after his meeting Thursday. I’m still in shock though. I cried for a bit like I thought I would but this time I’m not panicking about what God is doing. The tears are for the fear that is rising up in me. As I look at my two beautiful children, fear wants to take hold of all of the what-ifs. “What if I have to go back to work and put them in daycare?” “What if that work is not in daycare this time but away from them completely?” “What if they have to go to daycare and the care provided is far from acceptable and I have no clue?” They keep coming and coming and all I can do is try and give them over to God and hold on to what I believe; I am supposed to be home with my children. I am supposed to be the one to raise them, not some stranger.

John came in with a look I have not seen on his face in such a long time; a look of pure joy and giddy excitement. He has been released from his Egypt; his place of captivity. Now, we are in the dessert wandering, waiting to hear God speak and tell us where we are to go from here. Now is a time for us to not fall but to keep our eyes on God 100%. Now, more than ever, we need to learn from the mistakes of the Israelites so that we can get to our Promise Land in a season instead of a lifetime.

The Story and Meaning To My Header

Years ago, my mother used an analogy of a garden to our lives. I don’t remember what started the conversation, but the images that filled my mind have only grown from that day and I will carry it with me through the rest of my life.

We all have a garden. It starts from the moment our first seed is planted; our conception. As we grow, our garden grows. But, as with all gardens, it gets filled with things other than just the beautiful plants that should be there. Rocks and even boulders, weeds, holes, critters…anything that you can think of, at some point in time can be found in our garden. With gardens come work; hard work that leaves us exhausted and blistered. The end result though is so worth it. There are times though that we need help in our garden. Our spirits are weak or the job is too much for our abilities and we need a hand far greater than our own. We need the hand that started our garden in the beginning; the hand of God. Rocks need to be pulled and even boulders rolled out. What is left are holes; some gaping and in desperate need of being filled. What can fill those holes? Who can fill those holes? Only God with holy soil can fill the areas that need to be filled in a way that nothing else can. If we rely on ourselves and what we can bring, our garden will be weak and ugly. If we let God work in our garden, it will be strong and beautiful. It can be a painful process in making a lovely and productive garden, but once it is done, it is something to be admired by all.

Most of my life has been spent with me trying to work my garden to no avail. My garden became so full of weeds and boulders (no pebbles in my garden; just big ugly boulders) and creatures of destruction that my garden was nearly lost. The Gardener had to come in, in a mighty way, and begin to work furiously to regenerate His plan. Now my garden is full of life and is growing and even expanding. The work that is being done is more planting than pulling; growing instead of dying. Come in and enjoy my garden. Know that it is not perfect but it is always a work in progress.

Isaiah 51:3 "...He will make her deserts like Eden, and her wastelands like the Garden of the Lord..."