Wilderness

"The wilderness is not a place to make a home but is meant to be passed through. Yet the journey itself will leave a mark on our lives and shape the kinds of people we become on the other side of the experience."

The motor on our garage door broke for the 3rd time about 7 years ago. At that time we decided it was a "luxury" and we would just manually open and close the door. We've been doing this for a long time now. 

Broken is our normal. 

About two weeks ago, the garage door quit shutting easily. It opened, but wouldn't shut easily. But it shut, so we kept on with our manual approach to the garage. 

Last week the garage door quit moving all together. 

It's done. 

See the coil in the picture? That's beyond broken. Not repairable. 

We wavered about replacing it, but decided shutting it at night was important to us (both for safety and some neighborhood pets that don't belong to us that keep damaging things in our garage). So I began the task of finding us a garage door company. 

In a few hours, we should have a new garage door, coils, motor, springs, rails. The whole she-bang. 

We tried to explain to Peanut that we are getting this remote and will be able to open and close our garage door. Like magic she thinks. 

Broken has been our normal for so long that it's how we think it's supposed to be. 

I've been thinking this week that sometimes we get to that same spot in our spiritual life. 

Where disconnected, broken, not working right becomes our norm. 

If it stays that way long enough, we forget it can be different. 

We forget we are designed to be connected, whole in Him. 

I often think of Lent (as many do) as a time in the wilderness. 

Where you sort of feel off by yourself - preparing your heart for the coming of the King. 

But we aren't meant to live in the wilderness. The wilderness was never meant to be home. 

The times of trial, the challenges. 

Are just that. 

Seasons in the wilderness. 

Mama Warriors, perhaps you too have felt broken and wandering in the wilderness for far too long. 

Don't set up house there. 

Hunger for HOPE that your time in the wilderness is just that - time. 

Not home.