Staying Thankful in the Wilderness

This week has been like no other that I have ever experienced and I keep trying to figure out what is different.  Has my daily life changed?  Are there new people or circumstances affecting my emotional status or posture towards life?  Are the kids pushing me to a whole new edge that they have not tested before?  The answer is "no" to all of the above.  So what is it then?  Why do I feel like I am walking through the wilderness?  The answer is simple: God is doing a new thing.

For years, I have based each day on my emotions and my perception.  I naively thought that this is what we were supposed to do as adults in order to successfully function in this world.  I realized today, I have totally missed it.  Why does it matter what I think or feel if the person sitting next to me is in severe pain or is completely lost in their own wilderness?  Does my perception help them out of it?  No.  It just tells them that they are wrong and not as smart as me.  Why is it so hard for people to listen and be sensitive to the pain and confusion that someone else is living? 

I urge you, if there is anyone that confides in you or expresses their emotion to you, love on them before you say a word.  When I go to the Father with anything, He does not reply with judgment, opinion or condemnation.  He responds with love.  Sometimes, this is all we need as humans to take the next step or make it through the rest of the day.  Seems so simple in a world where everyone has an opinion and a platform.  Sometimes, though, the best response is silence, followed up with an embrace. 

So while this self-induced wilderness I am in seems difficult and lonely, I see how the Father is positioning me to see where I have been and missed it in order to help others navigate and be love in someone else's wilderness.  Choose love today before you choose anything else.