Trip to the Desert and Back

A few weeks ago God began a change in me. I started to feel His gentle tug on my heart and faintly hear the sound of His voice calling me. There has been a drought in my Christian walk. One that I couldn't seem to find my way out of. To be totally honest, I didn't try very hard to look for a way out of the dry and desolate place I found myself. I became content to sit there and slowly dehydrate to the point that my spiritual cup was down to a few drops instead of overflowing as God says it should be.

The first thing God told me was my husband needed to spend time bonding with other Godly men. You may say, "I thought you said God called you. Now you say He wants your husband to do something." The answer is simple. I crave my husband's time and attention which are in very short supply. He works two jobs which total 55+ hours a week, not including commute time. He doesn't get home until after 9:00 every week night except Fridays and works half a day on Saturday. I need time to take off my Mommy, teacher, cook, playmate, caretaker hat every once in a while. Having a child with special needs means that I take every step my child takes and sometimes I get burned out but God showed me that my husband gets tired and discouraged too. That is why God spoke to me. He wanted to guide me on the path to being a better wife to my husband. He asked me to put my husband's needs above my own.

The second thing God reminded me of was that it is my responsibility to teach my child about God. Our family needs to be in God's house learning His Word. It is my duty to take Sweet G whether he wants to go or understands the importance it holds.

Step three, I started reading my Bible and being more purposeful in my walk with Christ. For the first time in a long time God's Word was fresh and alive to me. I was getting it, growing. Then I started feeling the familiar sting of satan's fiery darts. Someone verbally attacked me on a social site over my view of an issue. My son misunderstood a couple of comments I made. My mother seems to think I am a vile and unfeeling monster because I disagree with the family on a very delicate family issue. Everywhere I turn it seems someone is misunderstanding what I say or questioning why I see things in a different way than they do.

I finally broke down in tears tonight questioning why this is all happening to me. The answer came through the post of a fellow blogger. She wrote about parenting. She reminded me that sometimes a child asks for something when in reality it isn't good for them. Her children prefer the cardboard boxed macaroni and cheese with the fake powdered cheese over her homemade nutritious Mac-and-cheese. They don't understand that she sacrifices much more time and energy to make the dish from scratch because she loves them and wants the best for them. As my Heavenly Father, God will not settle for the easy Mac way of life. It is not good enough for me, His beloved child. Even if it is hard to swallow and I'd be much more pleased with the instant heat and serve version He patiently gives me what I really need.

My prayer has been for God to lead me out of that dry place I've been sitting. As we walk the sand is hot and makes my steps unsteady at times. Walking in hot dry sand is difficult but it's the only way to get out of a desert. The amazing thing is every now and then I take a peek inside my cup and see that instead of becoming empty it's gradually getting fuller. Every step I take and each sip of water I drink fills my cup a little more.