Saturday, July 28, 2012

Scared

It's been a particularly dry, hot and windy summer here in the Sandhills.  My beautiful green, lush pastures are mostly brown and dried.  There have been prairie fires, mostly started by dry lightening, all around us.  Folks are getting scared.  Scared of more fires.  Scared of a tough winter.  Scared of not having enough range to get through the summer.  Scared we'll have sick calves.  Scared....scared....scared. 

I have to admit, I've had quite a few moments when I've been pretty scared, too.  I have felt great defeat.  I have stopped out in the pastures, got down on my knees and wept.....and prayed....prayed for rain, prayed for strength, prayed for wisdom to know how to regroup and handle something I've never had to tackle before.   I've admitted to God how scared I've been. 

We've helped neighbors fight big prairie fires and we've seen what our neighbors to the north, up near the Valentine area are experiencing.  We look to the skies and pray for rain and it seems like all we receive in return is a few sprinkles and more dry lightening strikes.  The hot days and the dry hot winds make it easy to forget the days of winter.

Truth is, we are spoiled.  Moisture has been so plentiful the last few years that we have forgotten what dry conditions are like.  We have to remind ourselves that generations before us have experienced these things too......and most of all, we have to remind ourselves "this too shall pass."

I have been given comfort in knowing that I'm doing what the Good Lord put me on this earth to do.  He wouldn't have put me back here in the Sandhills so long ago and put so many things in my favor if that weren't so.  And so I live with the faith that He will give me what I need when I need it, to get me through this rough time.  And while I have most definitely had moments when I have questioned why God would do this to us, when we are doing our best to do His will, I have to remind myself again of the truths I know from His word and not from what I see.  Jeremiah 29:11 "For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future."  I remind myself of this, sometimes hourly.....Philippians 4:20 "And my God will meet all your needs according to His glorious riches in Christ Jesus."  Proverbs 3:5,6 "Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge Him and He will make your paths straight."  Psalms 55:22 "Cast your cares on the Lord and He will sustain you; He will never let the righteous fall." And even if I DO fall, He is there to pick me up and give me something better....There are several others, but these are the main ones I try to hold on to.

Because I have faith in my God, I know, without a doubt we will overcome this rough time.  He is bigger than a drought.  He is bigger than a prairie fire.  He is bigger than any problem I can face.  And He has always brought me through tough times in better shape than before.  So I know He will again. 

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