I have to gush for just a second, My heart is so full! I'm amazing again by God's faithfulness and response to my simple faith. Everyday is an adventure as we lean into Him. We are standing on the edge of a cliff-again- and we put one foot out and a rock appears, then the next foot and another rock. We are in such a tight place but God is showing up daily meeting each need.
(My life quote-"When you get to the end of all the light you know and it's time to step into the darkness of the unknown, faith is knowing that one of two things shall happen: either you will be given something solid to stand on, or you will be taught how to fly."- Edward Teller)
Now that I begin to write I think of what we have been through in the last 9 months or so...I have been stretched, overwhelmed at times, exhausted most of the time and pressed but in my best moments I have been choosing to believe in His promises and not let defeat take hold! I was feeling a bit sorry for myself the other day (maybe a lot sorry) and thinking about how if we had stayed in Hawaii with Aaron working in Hilo we would be in such a different place financially right now. Then I remembered the Israelites and how they looked back at Egypt wishing to go back to slavery because it was comfortable. (Exodus 16:3)
That may sound extreme but we had become slaves to work, our time was not our own-especially Aaron. (He was working 6-7 days a week and driving 4 hours PER day on top of a 9-12 hour work day. I wasn't sitting idle waiting for him to come home either.) And yet we have both said maybe we should have stayed a little longer...(Egypt)
So God reminded me of how they looked back at Egypt reminiscing their "good life" and how stuck it made them. They experienced incredible miracles day after day and yet most of them never arrived at their Dream Land because they couldn't embrace where they were at and they didn't want to fight for where they were going. I have been making choices-
- to LIVE where I am...I have to learn this because I have been temporary for so long
- to continue to respond to the desires of my heart in Faith that God put them there
- and to trust, trust, trust so that we don't stay living in our own strength and abilities
- To believe in His goodness, His faithfulness, His undying love for me.
- I choose to look for the water coming out of the rock and be thankful when it does. (Psalm 78:12-15)
And now I gush!!! Because we get to see water come out of a rock and the sun between the clouds and we get to absolutely delight in HIS faithfulness!!!! We may be in the middle of a wilderness but that is where we see so clearly the way he treasures us, provides for us, and listens to our desires.
The Wilderness and desert will SING joyously
Like the flowers in spring BURSTING into blossom,
a symphony of song and color.
God's resplendent glory, fully on display
God awesome, God majestic.
ENERGIZE the limp hands, STRENGTHEN the rubbery knees.
Tell fearful souls,
“Courage! Take heart! God is here, right here!
On His way to put things right and redress all wrongs.
He’s on his way! He’ll save you!”
Blind eyes will be opened,
Deaf ears unstopped, Lame men and women will dance,
the voiceless break into song.
Springs of water will burst out in the wilderness, streams flow in the desert.
Hot sands will become a cool oasis, thirsty ground a bubbling brooke.
(Is 35:2-7 The Message/Amani's version)
