Pilgrim Road Blog Photo

Pilgrim Road Blog Photo

Tuesday, May 17, 2011

Waiting for the Rain

Dear friends,

I haven’t blogged in a while, mostly because I’m busy homeschooling my 13 year old, and because so much of what I’m experiencing on the pilgrim road is interior, defying that process of pen to paper. And to be honest, I’m just plain beat.  Not sleep deprived, not physically exhausted, but internally tired.  Maybe empty would be a better word.  Like a well that’s gone dry, or a field of corn waiting for a good drenching to perk it back up.

These times are to be expected on the pilgrim road.  Sometimes the land goes fallow for a little while.  The mistake would be to waste the dry time in self pity, or to give up stretching for all you’re worth toward God despite the crispy ground around you.  Things may feel one way, but in the invisible world of the Spirit, there is always some great, cosmic plan going on, always some unseen workings of a mighty God in progress.  These are the times I find the writings of the ancients so helpful.  They all experienced their share of drought, their times when they simply did “the next right thing” without a big bang to go along with it.  And then, at an unexpected moment, the Great One sends the rain…sometimes a flood, sometimes a trickle, sometimes a gentle drizzle.  And the dry time takes its place in the annals of our walk with God, most likely to be repeated in His unending pursuit to bless us with greater faith.

On the home front, the family continues to march on.  Three teenagers in the house.  Enough said.  (I don’t think I can write one of those Christmas letters abounding with accolades and accomplishments.  I mean, my kids are my earthly treasures, beautiful beyond compare to my heart, but my Christmas note would look like a spoof if I were completely honest…things can get messy in my neck of the woods).

Right now I’m reading The Pursuit of God by A.W. Tozer.  Tozer always makes me think more deeply and “outside the box”.  I’m getting ready to start a new book on the Kindle by P.G. Wodehouse (a classic, making it a 99 cent download!) It’s the first in his “Blanding’s Castle” series.  If you’ve never read any Wodehouse, start with any of the Jeeves and Wooster stories.  Pure, witty escapist comedy!

On the TV front, I’m sad to say we just watched the last episode of Foyle’s War, a PBS series I highly recommend.  It’s about a police detective in Hastings, England during WW2. Michael Kitchen as detective Christopher Foyle is simply perfect.  We got the series from the library, but I’d go with Netflix to avoid the frustration of many pixel glitches.  In the barren land of quality entertainment, this one is top drawer. 

My baby boy will be playing the part of Horton this weekend in Our Savior’s Lutheran School’s production of Seussical the Musical.  I will be doing make up (God help them!), and David will play the role of that philosophical elephant, reminding us all that “a person’s a person, no matter how small…” 

So, here I am again, as I’m sure you are, making my way along the pilgrim road, not at all sure of myself but absolutely sure of the One who set my feet to walkin’ here.  I’ll leave you with a quote by one of those old dead guys who didn’t get distracted by facebook and twitter, but who were vexed by things like outdoor “plumbing”, the black plague, and public hangings without due process.

Men go abroad to wonder at the heights of mountains, at the huge waves of the sea, at the long courses of the rivers, at the vast compass of the ocean, at the circular motions of the stars, and they pass by themselves without wondering.
~Saint Augustine

Whether you are experiencing rain or drought, don’t pass by yourself and miss the wonder, in whom God has invested His all.

You’re friend on the pilgrim road,

Loriann