I don't believe in coincidences

The only way I could explain to Husband how I was feeling was something like this:

"I feel like I'm in the desert....wandering and looking for miles, but there's nothing out there. I'm like a little cactus, thirsty and hot and weary....I see nothing for miles...just dry, deserty, desertness."

Imagine, even a little more dramatic than that. I believe I even compared my newly (or again) acne-happy face to that of the outer shell of cacti.

So, this morning, Husband is at work, going over his weekly devotionals (he's got a great job like that) and THIS is the verse:

Jeremiah 17:5-8

New Living Translation (NLT)

Wisdom from theLord

⁵ This is what theLord says:
“Cursed are those who put their trust in mere humans,
who rely on human strength
and turn their hearts away from the Lord.
⁶ They are like stunted shrubs in the desert,
with no hope for the future.
They will live in the barren wilderness,
in an uninhabited salty land.

⁷ “But blessed are those who trust in the Lord
and have made the Lord their hope and confidence.
⁸ They are like trees planted along a riverbank,
with roots that reach deep into the water.
Such trees are not bothered by the heat
or worried by long months of drought.
Their leaves stay green,
and they never stop producing fruit.

 

 

Holy Toledo. And I don't believe in coincidences.

At first, I thought maybe I was being scolded. "Cursed are those" it says. However, and Alex reminded me, that I was being reassured. Reassured that my risky decision was the correct one, again, and reassured that if I would just look up, I'd be more like a watered tree than a wandering shrub. Plus, I've never been one of those that feels scolded or punished by God. I think I know His character well enough to know that He is gentle and light with those who seek Him. After all, he created us in His image, and He's the one who said that living as a tree by a river is more peaceful than a shrub in the sun; how many of us feel the same way?

So, who exactly was I putting my trust in? Myself? Probably, but this gentle reminder--given to Alex to give to me--is that I don't have to feel like a dried up cactus, but a tree that is so wonderfully planted beside a flowing, calm, peaceful river, who doesn't have to worry about a dry season or the heat of fear, but who only has to wait to produce beautiful green leaves.

 

I don't exactly know what is coming up for the two of us, but I do know this: God's hand is in every nook and cranny of it.