Thoughts of walking through a desert haunt my
mind. The wanting of shade for comfort, wanting of water for refreshing,
sustaining and cooling my parched and weary body. A weary-wandering in a vast, dry, mostly lifeless land.
We can feel like we are wandering in a desert as we live here in a land of
plenty of water, a land with plenty of shade.
The soul’s journey is far different from that of the body.
We can be surrounded by joy-filled faces, when our hearts feel barren, dry and
shriveled.
When
I was experiencing depression, for several years my soul was parched and I longed for relief. I sought it in counseling and left without water. I sought it in comfort from a Pastor, and left without water. I sought it from friends and family...and received sips.
I sought it at a conference for women called Set Apart and found the river. I found the river, but I had to leave and go home. It was only a weekend of refreshing, though I took a reserve home, I needed to have the daily, the hourly drink of water.
I sought it at a conference for women called Set Apart and found the river. I found the river, but I had to leave and go home. It was only a weekend of refreshing, though I took a reserve home, I needed to have the daily, the hourly drink of water.
My relief came. I found the water, and I found the shade in the Word of God. I spent three hours some days, but at least an hour every day sitting at my kitchen table with Jesus. [John 1:1] As I sat with Him, the refreshing stream of life-giving truth [John 8:32] lighted the dark places, transforming my thinking, healing my hurts, enabling me to relate with people in a healthy way. I have grown to understand my value to God regardless of what people do, think or say about me. [~mostly thats true~some things are a life-long learning processes, right?]
I've also found refreshing in groups of women who were seeking the water and the shade too. Not for such dark reasons as my depression, but seeking it for healing of their hearts, wisdom for their lives, and quenching of their thirst for more than 'this'. Together we have found the River that satisfies. The source of life. [Revelation 22:1]
I've also found refreshing in groups of women who were seeking the water and the shade too. Not for such dark reasons as my depression, but seeking it for healing of their hearts, wisdom for their lives, and quenching of their thirst for more than 'this'. Together we have found the River that satisfies. The source of life. [Revelation 22:1]
You, God, are my God,
earnestly I seek you;
earnestly I seek you;
I thirst for you,
my whole being longs for you,
in a dry and parched land
where there is no water.
~Psalm 63:1
1 comment:
Amen to this-- "The soul’s journey is far different from that of the body. We can be surrounded by joy-filled faces, when our hearts feel barren, dry and shriveled. " I often find it strange that my heart feels empty when my life is so full- full of children and laughter and a good man--- but those holes that need the Living Water drain quickly and I must replenish. Praying streams over you today.
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