I've been through several droughts in my life - when the rains dried up and the ground did, too. Nearly every summer in Texas was a drought. The rain would stop in late May or early June and would not return until September, if then. When we lived in Forestburg, the grass would be brown and crackly as you walked across it. But underneath, you could see cracks in the ground. Nothing would grow. Nothing. It didn't matter how much you watered it. You simply could not keep up. It was way too hot and dry. Also, with the drought came the bugs. Big bugs. Lots of bugs - usually grasshoppers and crickets. Oh, the crickets. (That's another blog for another day!) It was just gross. We all would pray for the rain, and finally one day, it would come. We would praise the Lord for it!
About the second summer we were back in Louisiana, there was a drought here in usually wet CenLa. We were all told to conserve water, and burn bans were put in place by local fire officials. One day during this particular summer, Zach was a toddler, and I was trying to take advantage of nap time by preparing some things for supper that night. I had heard the distant wail of a siren earlier, but I hadn't thought much about it. That was a pretty frequent occurrence where we live. Just a little later, I happened to look out our kitchen window to see the woods behind our house on fire! The flames were quite large and leaping up one particular pine tree. I watched for a little while, knowing the fire department was already there. Suddenly, I saw the flames come under our backyard fence and spread to Zach's swing set. I sprung into action, scooped the baby up from his nap, and headed to Gram's! I called Stewart on the way and told him to go home and watch our property. It was so scary! Stewart called not long after we arrived at Gram's to say the fire was contained and nothing in our yard had been hurt. It appeared that someone in the neighborhood behind our house had carelessly set a fire, and with the drought, it had spread quickly. About a week later, the fire reignited by itself, and the fire department had to come back. It was a frightening event. And the day the weather man said, "This rain event is going to be our drought buster," we all rejoiced!
Droughts come in the normal cycle of weather. They just happen. We can't really plan for them. Only God knows how the seasons will go. He does tell us that to everything there is a season, and no season lasts forever. (Ecclesiastes 3) As my best friend's mom used to say, "The Bible says, 'It came to pass,' not 'It came to stay.'" Droughts do not last forever. Floods don't last forever either. They are only there for a time, and when God deems the time to be over, He changes the season.
This summer, I have been in a drought. Not a spiritual drought, but a writing drought. The ink dried up. The pen wouldn't move. (Or I guess in this case, the keyboard wouldn't type.) The words just would not come. It wasn't that the Lord wasn't speaking to me - because He was and LOUDLY. It was just that the words would not come on this page. As much as I tried and wanted the words to come, they just wouldn't. I felt as if everything the Lord was saying to me was for another time and another place, and right now, those words need to been hidden in my heart. The seasons have changed in my life, and the drought is now over. God is restoring. A friend of mine gave me these verses that assures me God is going to make my pen move again:
Be glad, people of Zion,
rejoice in the Lord your God,
for he has given you the autumn rains
because he is faithful.
He sends you abundant showers,
both autumn and spring rains, as before.
The threshing floors will be filled with grain;
the vats will overflow with new wine and oil.
(Joel 2:23-27)
The Lord has indeed worked wonders for me, even in the midst of drought. The rains are coming. And I will rejoice!
About the second summer we were back in Louisiana, there was a drought here in usually wet CenLa. We were all told to conserve water, and burn bans were put in place by local fire officials. One day during this particular summer, Zach was a toddler, and I was trying to take advantage of nap time by preparing some things for supper that night. I had heard the distant wail of a siren earlier, but I hadn't thought much about it. That was a pretty frequent occurrence where we live. Just a little later, I happened to look out our kitchen window to see the woods behind our house on fire! The flames were quite large and leaping up one particular pine tree. I watched for a little while, knowing the fire department was already there. Suddenly, I saw the flames come under our backyard fence and spread to Zach's swing set. I sprung into action, scooped the baby up from his nap, and headed to Gram's! I called Stewart on the way and told him to go home and watch our property. It was so scary! Stewart called not long after we arrived at Gram's to say the fire was contained and nothing in our yard had been hurt. It appeared that someone in the neighborhood behind our house had carelessly set a fire, and with the drought, it had spread quickly. About a week later, the fire reignited by itself, and the fire department had to come back. It was a frightening event. And the day the weather man said, "This rain event is going to be our drought buster," we all rejoiced!
Droughts come in the normal cycle of weather. They just happen. We can't really plan for them. Only God knows how the seasons will go. He does tell us that to everything there is a season, and no season lasts forever. (Ecclesiastes 3) As my best friend's mom used to say, "The Bible says, 'It came to pass,' not 'It came to stay.'" Droughts do not last forever. Floods don't last forever either. They are only there for a time, and when God deems the time to be over, He changes the season.
This summer, I have been in a drought. Not a spiritual drought, but a writing drought. The ink dried up. The pen wouldn't move. (Or I guess in this case, the keyboard wouldn't type.) The words just would not come. It wasn't that the Lord wasn't speaking to me - because He was and LOUDLY. It was just that the words would not come on this page. As much as I tried and wanted the words to come, they just wouldn't. I felt as if everything the Lord was saying to me was for another time and another place, and right now, those words need to been hidden in my heart. The seasons have changed in my life, and the drought is now over. God is restoring. A friend of mine gave me these verses that assures me God is going to make my pen move again:
Be glad, people of Zion,
rejoice in the Lord your God,
for he has given you the autumn rains
because he is faithful.
He sends you abundant showers,
both autumn and spring rains, as before.
The threshing floors will be filled with grain;
the vats will overflow with new wine and oil.
“I will repay you for the years the locusts have eaten—
the great locust and the young locust,
the other locusts and the locust swarm—
my great army that I sent among you.
the great locust and the young locust,
the other locusts and the locust swarm—
my great army that I sent among you.
You will have plenty to eat, until you are full,
and you will praise the name of the Lord your God,
who has worked wonders for you;
never again will my people be shamed.
and you will praise the name of the Lord your God,
who has worked wonders for you;
never again will my people be shamed.
Then you will know that I am in Israel,
that I am the Lord your God,
and that there is no other;
never again will my people be shamed.
that I am the Lord your God,
and that there is no other;
never again will my people be shamed.
The Lord has indeed worked wonders for me, even in the midst of drought. The rains are coming. And I will rejoice!
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