Roots

And now, just as you accepted Christ Jesus as your Lord, you must continue to follow him. Let your roots grow down into him, and let your lives be built on him. Then your faith will grow strong in the truth you were taught, and you will overflow with thankfulness. Colossians 2:6-7

The past year has been an interesting one, to say the least.  Over a year ago we began making plans to take our road ministry off the road - to try to settle down in one place and begin to establish some "roots".  We were at a transition point in life, so it seemed like the logical move.  My son was moving on to do some local ministry apart from the family; my husband was hoping to return to school; my daughter just wanted to have a "normal" life.

Well, here we are almost a year later, and without going into all the gory details (you can read some of my previous blogs if you're wondering), let's just say that life hasn't gone at all like we expected that it would.  I feel like I am no closer to having "roots" than I was a year ago.

So it was on this matter that I found myself crying out to God this week... Okay, so it's more like I was whining to God, bemoaning the fact that life isn't happening and that I just want to put down some roots.  And, as He does so often and so well, He directed me back to His Word. 

Roots, He reminded me, are not tied into housing arrangements and jobs.  My roots are to be in Him.  The foundation I am called to concern myself with is not a concrete (or pier and beam) foundation for a physical house, but rather it is a foundation of a life built upon faith in Jesus Christ.  And frankly, in my search for physical roots, my faith has wavered, the inevitable response to a misdirected focus.

So now it's time to redirect!  While I'd still love to have a house without wheels underneath, this is incidental.  Maybe it will happen someday. In the meantime, I must stop concerning myself with getting rooted in a city or a neighborhood, house or job.  Letting my roots grow down into Him - that's where my life can finally feel stable again, whether or not my house moves.

So, yeah... It really is time to put down more roots.  I'm looking forward to settling down!

That's... Just a thought...

Paralyzed by Uncertainty

Save me, O God, for the floodwaters are up to my neck. Deeper and deeper I sink into the mire; I can’t find a foothold.  I am in deep water, and the floods overwhelm me. I am exhausted from crying for help; my throat is parched. My eyes are swollen with weeping, waiting for my God to help me.

Don’t let the floods overwhelm me, or the deep waters swallow me, or the pit of death devour me. Answer my prayers, O Lord, for your unfailing love is wonderful.  Take care of me, for your mercy is so plentiful.  Psalm 69:1-3, 15-16

 

Well, it's been a while since I updated this page, so I thought maybe it was time. 

 

I just read my last post from November and I've got to admit I found it a bit discouraging.  I'd like to say that I am here to report how things have gotten better, and how God has revealed His plan, and how we are joyfully resting in His provision over us.  But, in fact, what I wrote in November could just as easily have been written today.  Very little has changed.  We are still living in the bus in the retirement park... only now the bus is getting harder and harder (and more and more expensive) to cool... I continue to work part-time because I still cannot find a full-time job... My husband is no longer in college because we could not afford it... Well, you get the idea!

 

I feel like I am in a constant state of "limbo".  I have given up planning long-term.  It's all I can do to tackle one day at a time!  It's a familiar state of being now, but still I find myself continually frustrated.  And it's hard to know what to do next.  The uncertainty of life makes it difficult to move at all.  I find myself feeling paralyzed...

 

As I write this I am reminded of a story I have shared often over the years from a passage very near to my heart: Jeremiah 29.  I thought it was encouraging when I shared it, so here it is again, in hopes I find encouragement in it myself today:

 

 This is what the Lord says: “You will be in Babylon for seventy years. But then I will come and do for you all the good things I have promised, and I will bring you home again.  For I know the plans I have for you,” says the Lord. “They are plans for good and not for disaster, to give you a future and a hope."  Jeremiah 29:10-11

So, yeah, that seventy year thing... Not too excited about that! Eight months has nearly put me over the edge!  But beyond that, the promises of God have not changed.  They will not change, for He will not change.  God is God.  He is good.  He is faithful.  He is trustworthy.  And He has a plan.  Whether or not I can see it; whether or not I can understand it... My God has a plan.

Maybe I'm not the only one feeling paralyzed today.  Maybe something has you feeling "stuck" or powerless... I don't have any great words of wisdom for you today, but I do have a couple of simple facts to offer:
1 - If God can move mountains, He can move you (and me) from that place of feeling stuck.
2 - The God who spoke the universe into existence has all the power you (and I) need to face life's challenges.

That's it.  It's all I've got right now.  But, there's really nothing more that I need, is there?

...Just a thought...

"In those days when you pray, I will listen.  If you look for me wholeheartedly, you will find me.  I will be found by you,” says the Lord.     Jeremiah 29:12-14