Jasmine's Place Issue No. 6 - July/August 2013 | Page 29

house.
- My father passed away.
- Our son needed emergency surgery
two weeks before we moved.
- We moved into our new house
hours before school started. Our son
ran into my arms sobbing after
school. The teacher had asked them
to draw a picture depicting their
summer holidays. His was a picture
of a little boy waving goodbye with a
U-Haul in the background.
In the two years that followed it was
a steady diet of loss and change.
Beyond devastated, I was numb. I
wasn’t just in a new land where I
knew no one, I cried non-stop
lamenting the only visual I could
come up with:
This experience is even in the Bible,
and the verse is a healing balm
when those howling winds of
adversity swirl.
Therefore I am now
going to allure her; I
will lead her into the
wilderness and speak
tenderly to her.
Hosea 2:14, NIV
Those times when you wonder
where God is, He’s there. The bigger
point is He uses those Hosea 2:14
experiences to prepare and grow you
in Him.
God was a helicopter pilot who flew
me to a forest, lowered me down,
and left me there. For good. For His
entertainment at my expense. Without 2003-8, I wouldn’t have a
word to write and share. He
equipped me with wisdom,
freedom, and hope I’m still able to
dispense. I understand those times,
and yes, I’m thankful for them.
Ever feel like that? How about you?
But, I not only survived that season, I
recently came through a similar
wilderness season. The difference
between the first isolation and the
most recent? I know it’s not a cosmic
joke. In fact, it’s a gift from God that
exists partly to draw us even closer
to Him. © Julie Arduini – www.juliearduini.com
Julie Arduini is a writer and speaker who
encourages audiences to find freedom through
surrender. She knows it has to start with her, so
she’s surrendering the good, the bad, and---
maybe one day---the chocolate.
She blogs for Christians Read, the Bella Women
Network, and is working on her Adirondack
based contemporary romance. Julie lives in Ohio
with her husband and children.
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