The older I get, the more I can look back and see God’s hand in every season.

Some seasons are slow and monotonous.

I remember the early years of motherhood. “The days are long, but the years are short,” they said. Those years were definitely packed full of simple joys. But goodness, there were also some really long, repetitive days.

Days that felt a whole lot like desert living.

There were sleepless nights and hospital stays and peanut butter and jelly sandwiches and spirited children and disciplines that seemed to get us nowhere. There were days I felt lost, rebellious, forgotten, and hungry for something more than the same old same old. There were times I questioned God’s goodness; times my soul felt dry in a weary land. I couldn’t always see it then, but God was working in every detail. He was providing, humbling, sanctifying, forgiving, and drawing our hearts to His in the most necessary and beautiful ways. If I allow myself to get too far removed from those days, I’ll forget the thousands of ways God provided for our family in that season.

__________

The Israelites had slow and monotonous years.

40 of them, to be exact.

They were desert-living, manna-eating, cloud-and-fire-pillar-following, battle-fighting, stiff-necked-responding years. There were days they felt lost, rebellious, forgotten, and hungry for something more than the same old same old. Oh, how they questioned God’s goodness – over and over again – so much that they said it would have been better for them to serve the Egyptians than to die in the wilderness (Exodus 14:12). They couldn’t always see it then, but God was working in every detail. He was providing, humbling, sanctifying, forgiving, and drawing their hearts to His in the most necessary and beautiful ways.

__________

Other seasons are accelerated and full of wonder.

Our family is just through one – a thirty-day whirlwind of the most unlikely events – and I still can’t get over the miracle-working power of our God.

A job was secured in a saturated market. When asked to leave the only Indiana home they’ve ever known, four children were shockingly all-in. A buyer and a seller – two Jesus-loving families – circled in prayer around our kitchen table, and our house sold before it was ever listed. Movers gave unexpected ministry discounts. Faith-filled realtors pulled off unbelievable feats smack in the middle of a historic government shut-down. A beautiful interim home was offered to us at no charge. Family and friends provided loaner vehicles when two of ours broke down. New schools extended kindness and made exceptions so our kids wouldn’t miss a beat. Homeowners who had refused solid offers for nearly two years sold us our new Texas home in a day, far below their original asking price.

What were roadblocks in the world’s eyes were on-ramps in God’s economy.

Kind of like the Moses-rescuing, plague-releasing, Red-Sea-parting, manna-falling, water-from-rock-flowing, enemy-defeating, Jordan-crossing, glory-shining presence of God during the Israelite’s journey to the Promised Land. God was providing, humbling, sanctifying, forgiving, and drawing hearts to His in the most powerful and miraculous ways.

__________

Joshua set up twelve stones to remember. We, too, must take intentional steps to remember.

So I write.

I tell stories to my kids – sometimes in a heap of laughter, and other times with awe and reverent tears.

We invite three teenagers and a girl to pile up together on our too-small living room furniture, so we can remind each other that the same God who has been faithful in the past goes with us into the unknowns of tomorrow. Those sleepless nights, hospital stays, PB&J sandwiches, spirited children, and repetitive disciplines give us reason to talk about God’s rest, peace, grace, and power in our weakness. And those miraculous moments of incredible overcoming cause us to fall to our knees in awe of our mighty and victorious God, whose plans and purposes prevail in every season, no matter what seems to stand in our way.

He did this so that all the peoples of the earth might know that the hand of the Lord is powerful and so that you might always fear the Lord your God.” – Joshua 4:24

Do the people around you know God’s power displayed in your life?

They’re taking in our attitudes while we wait on God’s timing and direction.

They’re listening to the tones of our voices when life heats up and the pressure is on.

They’re waiting for us to respond – both in joys and in trials – and will know by our words and actions where our allegiance lies.

Will they remember my bold faith and unwavering trust in my great God? Or will they remember a grumbling, wavering woman who lived in the fear of the unknown?

When they look back, they can see that God was working in every detail.

At His Feet,

 

 

*Let’s talk: Share a time when God has displayed His power in your life.

Week 2 Challenge: This week start a journal and begin recording all the ways God has been faithful to you and your family over the years.

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WhitneyD

WhitneyD

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