My Wilderness

The other day I was talking to a dear friend and I shared with her my recent spiritual frustrations. I simply said, "I am in the desert, and it's not even a good one!" You know, in the Bible a wilderness experience normally preceeds a visit from the Lord. In my life it has always been the same, God meets me in the desert. The desert times, the dry times are when God can grasp our attention, because we are seeking something. Not so this time! I have felt very alone in this wilderness! But God has finally allowed me to see a glimpse of His presence and to once again hear His voice. Oh how desparate I have been for that! Just a few weeks ago, I started the Bible study, He Speaks to Me by Priscilla Shirer. It has been amazing. God has been teaching me so much. This week we have been studying about "a single minded worship." This seemed to be a theme in my house this week as well. How often is Sunday morning the craziest time of the week! Satan so tries to distract us with everything he can, and by the time we arrive at church we are exhausted, stressed, and in no way ready to meet our Savior! God has been teaching me to truly plan for worship, such simple things as preparing ourselves for corporate worship on Sunday morning, and trully PLANNING to worship him every day. So often pride and other sins get in our way and we find ourselves distracted in worship. A big distractor for me in worship and ministry has been my desitre to people please. Seeing as though being a mom is my primary ministry these days, God has really allowed me to get perspective in this area. Having a 2 year old, my best efforts of affirmation, correction, discipline and training, are often lost when we are out in public! I want so badly to be a "good" parent, and while I know any 2 year old is far from perfect, God truly is teaching me humility through Eliana! In addition, 2 year olds are wonderful equalizers! My knowledge or ackomplishments are truly lost on her; my 2 year old does not care that I have a masters degree! Talk about truly learning to please an audience of One! All that I once sought diligently . . . as Paul said, "I count as loss." Toddlers surely put people pleasing into perspective! God is Good! Cast aside all distractions, Plan to Worship Him, Plan to please Him, Plan to be "single-minded" in worship!