In the Midst

There is grace in the wilderness.  

We often only see the challenges in the wilderness; the dry barren land, the thirst and the isolation.  But there is also grace in the wilderness – 

a place of rest and quiet where one can hear the Voice of the Lord, where one can check out from the people and the noises around them, 

where one can stop pressing forward and just allow time to move slowly and sometimes to stand still. There is a rest in the wilderness that is unusual and which we don’t always understand – 

a rest that comes when we realize that we can no longer push against what is out of our control, 

a rest that comes when we lean in, rather than push back. 

And after the wilderness, comes the rebuilding.  

There is a time of breaking down in the wilderness.  

A shedding of those things that are not useful or necessary.  

And with the shedding comes the opportunity to build again.  

We are loved by the Lord with an everlasting love – 

a love that promises to rebuild and to return to us our joy – 

the joy that comes forth in dancing.  

Are you in the wilderness?  

Accept the grace, lean in and rest.  

Are you in the process of shedding?  

Let it go!  

Are you coming out of the wilderness?  

Prepare to rebuild.  

And above all, remember, that in the midst, 

regardless what your midst looks like,

there is a God that loves you with an everlasting love!