We'd just come through a very hot, dry summer and things were not looking good here. My hubby was just starting to hand-feed stock as we left. We were in serious need of rain.
But, it was not just outside. Things inside were strained and difficult and dry too.
But, the green I see outside now reminds me that there is always hope, always potential for new growth, for things to change and improve and to actually flourish. God's desire is for us to do more than just survive.
Sometimes, being away can give you a fresh perspective. Coming back into our largish home, I can appreciate how much room there is here, and how many freedoms we enjoy here.
The girls are appreciating all their toys and books in a new way. Three year old Abi has wanted to pull everything out these first couple of days and play with absolutely everything all at once. It seems to be a rather large and continual exercise in damage control, especially as my hubby had the house so tidy before our arrival.
But, there's more freshness here than just a tidy house, a roast dinner to come home to, re-discovering our own space and toys. There's a sense that God is up to something.
The very first morning here, I stumbled across this passage in something I read:
The desert and the parched land will be glad;
the wilderness will rejoice and blossom.
Like the crocus, it will burst into bloom;
it will rejoice greatly and shout for joy.
The glory of Lebanon will be given to it,
the splendour of Carmel and Sharon;
they will see the glory of the Lord,
the splendour of our God Isa 35:1-2
I've noticed a few things since coming home, which I need to write down, so they don't blur into the background of mundanity again. Things that need to change, things to be thankful for, things that need to be priorities, other things that need to be put in a different place and given a different measure of importance. I hope to be writing about some of those.
One thing that keeps jumping out though, is the need to be intentional, to get past that pull of gravity I mentioned in a previous article.
If we are stuck where things aren't right, we need to be intentional in getting past what keeps us there and what keeps taking us back there.
So, this first, fresh week, I'm hoping that what stands out can be noted down and become inspiration for getting past that pull of gravity in this place.
Perhaps in your place, the pull is different, the dryness is different, though its source is the same - sinfulness and decay, at the very core of everything.
But praise God for grace - the power to get beyond the normal, the pull of that sinfulness and decay, the tiredness of same old, same old, and to get that fresh perspective and fresh inspiration.
Praise God for the grace that is the force outside of ourselves to be more, aim higher, desire more, thirst for better. The grace that not only saves us from ourselves, but forgives and redeems and renews and empowers.
In Him (Jesus) we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, in accordance with the riches of God’s grace that He lavished on us. Eph 1:7,8
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