I have been in St. Maries, ID for the last couple of weeks. The work I did was smelly, dirty and lonely. Every day as I drove on to the site my Jeep bounced, jostled and moaned over the ruts frozen in the North Idaho tundra. With each bounce it reminded me of of so many other times in my life where I was bouncing through the ruts of life. Sometimes I would get stuck when the ruts were deep and muddy and other times they were frozen and I just bounced through.
At the beginning of my North Idaho journey I was excited to be away from life and enjoy the quiet, watch non-children movies and regroup with God. Towards the end I just wanted to be home with my family. Last night when I got home I received the two biggest hugs ever!
I realized that as I longed for home I also longed for God. I have been in a God rut lately. I know He is there but somedays I just feel so lonely. I wish I could walk through the Garden with God or listen to Jesus preach or feel the Spirit move in me. As I was praying this morning God showed me that He is available for a walk anytime, that all I have to do is open my Bible to hear Christ preach and the Spirit dwells in me. I am not the only one who has ever been in a rut. It is Satan's lies that tell me I am alone. Instead I am surrounded by family and friends who love me for me - good and bad. They are the ones who need to know I am in a rut. They are the ones who will pull me out. Thank you Jesus for sending me people who believe in me and love me for me.
So, next time you are in a rut rememeber you are not alone. You have people around you who love you and want to help you. But, most importantly you have God who is with you each bounce along the way. Allow yourself to feel Christ's boundless grace surround you as you move through life full of ruts.
