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i sit across the table from her and share a little about this desert i’ve been in.  and she gives me some tips;

have you tried praying God’s word back to Him?

do you have a set time to meet with the Lord?

have you tried singing hymns?

 -yes, i do that, i’m doing that.  on and on-the suggestions go. and it’s not that they aren’t good ones-they are disciplines that have worked so for a very long time.  they are wise and life giving.  and in writing this series, these things are already assumed-if you’ve never practiced praying God’s word back to Him-start now!!

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but i’m not writing about a new discipline or finding a new method.  and, yes, i’ll admit i am the least consistent person i know…in anything!   Myquillyn wrote recently about rhythm vs. routine.  for the most part, i live in rhythm more than routine.

it would be easy to read some of the things i’ve shared and think;
I need to start doing the dishes.
            or
That would never work for me.
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and that would be missing the point of it all.  the point about the dishes is that God knew some things that i didn’t know myself.  i didn’t know before i lived in a house with a clothesline how restful laundry could be.  and when we moved into this house 5 years ago i debated about installing a dishwasher.  do you see in that picture above? that is it for my counter/cupboard space. you can see-dishwasher space is prime space!  i tried a week without one just to see. i concluded i needed the dishwasher more than the space.

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but here we are 5 years later, and this is the way the Lord is coming to my aid?  He knows how i work, He knitted me together.  and He knows the desert i’m in.  and really, it’s His enabling that i can even see the provision, the rest that the chore invites me into.  i don’t understand it and i can’t explain it.  in my prayer closet i am dry and empty, dull and colorless; standing at the sink the world takes on color and i am left with nothing but Wonder.

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it’s not really about the dishes.  it’s the movement of the One who set the earth to spinning.  it’s that in Him i live and move and have my being.  and my Counselor and my Guide has to show me what that really means in a practical way for this season of life that i am in.

How is the Great Shepherd coming to your aid personally and specifically in the season you are in?  if you take anything away from my words-let it be that.

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