Valleys Fill First

Well I finally decided to end my blogging drought. I wish I could tell you that a lot has happened since my last substantial post but honestly there isn’t much new to relay except for the rather mundane details of life. Last week was a rough one due to the fact that my hubby came down with what we suspect was H1N1 better known as the swine flu. He was out of commission for a good 5-6 days. Bookending his touch of the swine were two Sundays when he preached at our home church from college. During that time we also had my sister Samantha in town for her fall break. It was a huge blessing to see and hang out with her!! All in all it was a busy two weeks for both of us. Thankfully Jon is back to normal except for a persistent cough. Ah well.

As far as I’m concerned I’m hanging in there. It has been a rough couple of weeks and I guess the best way to describe the way I’ve been feeling is just plain sad. Thankfully I haven’t suffered any catastrophic loss but nonetheless I feel pretty broken. Ever feel like difficulties come in droves? Maybe that just comes from the mindset we get in when things get tough but I'm telling you right now that I am overwhelmed. The only answer I have for the small valley I've been walking through lately is the painful process of refinement which I honestly would rather do without. Enduring any kind of brokenness is not something most of us do well. It's a humbling place to be. So I’ve been praying a lot lately, praying for wisdom, joy, encouragement and trying to spend a lot of time just thanking God for the many blessings I have been given. I don’t know about any of you but thankfulness does not come naturally to me. So little by little I’m learning, growing and seeking the Lord. I’m interested to see what He is preparing me for throughout all of this because it has been a taxing time. Funny enough I am preparing to read Job as part of my Bible reading plan. I’m sure that is no coincidence.

Aside from the difficulties I’ve been dealing with lately it’s still very easy to say that Jon and I are incredibly blessed. He has begun the process of sending out resumes and praying through God’s specific call on our lives in the upcoming months. It’s exciting, stressful and crazy to realize that…this is it!! Who knows what the next step will be. One other important blessing to tell you all about is that I found out I’m going to have a nephew!!! Woohoo! We’ll get to see Heather and Michael for Thanksgiving so I’ll finally have a chance to see her baby bump and congratulate them in person. God is good.

So how is that for an end to my blogging drought?!? Here is a suitable song to close out my post. This is where I am.