Safe, Warm, and Uncomfortable...

It hasn't significantly snowed here yet. It hasn't rained either. It has been a balmy 70 some degrees on a regular basis since the little tiny cold snap we had in the first weeks of October. While some have been lauding the wonderful weather and sunshiny extension of summer-like weather there has been a feeling of dread creeping up my spine and settling into my heart. We need moisture. We need rain. We need snow. It is imperative that somewhere, something breaks loose for the mid section of our country and we get precipitation to end this drought. In short, we need cold, wet, snow, rain - we need discomfort.

So too in my daily life. I need discomfort. I need the days filled with strife, angst, hardship, challenges, and busyness to move me forward into a life of bounty and fruitful existence. Yes, I know how dangerous that last statement is. Fully aware of the tongue-in-cheek saying among Christians: "Never pray for patience. God will deliver all manner of frustrating circumstances to teach you just how to be patient!" But the thing is, if I don't tell the Lord I am ready, that I understand that I need these challenges, it doesn't mean He won't deliver them anyway. It simply means that I will stick my head in the sand. It means I will be disobedient to His will. It means I will wander off the path in search of comfort, instead of staying by His side to witness greatness.

I accept that I need to be uncomfortable. I accept the discomfort as part of a necessary process in which my God moves me from barrenness to fruitful bounty. I open my hands to the gift the Lord desires to place in them, whether it looks like snow, mud, rain, dust or nothing at all. I accept that He alone knows what I need, when I need it.

I open my heart, Lord, to the willingness to be led and ask You to quell my desire to lead. I pray You will deliver joy into my heart when things are tough, cold, wet, uncomfortable... Remind me that there was One who endured horrors and pain unimaginable so that I might live. My discomfort pales in comparison. Remind me anyway. When life is hard, when circumstances seem insurmountable, when I am tempted to use my own flawed scale of fair and unjust, remind me.

Lean into the discomfort today and be reminded that God uses our pain to teach and grow us into the likeness of His Son. It is never wasted...

Be blessed.