Oceans in the Desert

Kathi Pelton

Today could have been a real emotional train wreck. “Could have been” are the key words in this sentence. If you follow my writings or my page then you know that 2021 has been nothing short of painful and hard for me. I have wrote about how unfamiliar this place that I am in is to me. It is like a deep gorge that I unexpectedly fell into and now have to walk forward (while disoriented) until I come to the end of it. Then, to add a bit of a “spin” to my already disorienting senses, I received some news today that once again has the potential to change a big part of my life. In the first moments I began to feel sick inside and then I stopped and remembered the lessons from past moments that had the potential to steal my peace. I stopped and asked the Lord to help me and I heard His Spirit say,

“Remain in my love. I have surrounded you in my love today and my love will surround you every day to come.”

I suddenly realized that I was beginning to grieve something that hasn’t even happened yet. I was leaving today and concerning myself with tomorrow. Through all of life’s ebbs and flows there has always been a gift of grace given to me in the moment that I had to walk through a change or transition. When we remain in the moment that we are in, allowing the love that we are continually surrounded in to fill that space, there is peace and grace restored. Yet, when we move into the “yet to come” and the assumptions of what that will look and feel like, we get outside of God’s grace and timetable, forcing us to pull on our own strength and limited understanding.

I have hesitated writing during this season that is personally so difficult for me. The past five previous years have been “mostly” beautiful and writing from that place was a great joy. Writing from a vulnerable place and from this place of grief is hard and it risks misunderstanding by my readers. But, I felt that the Lord asked me to write through the pain and to learn deeper truths from the pain. This is not my first time in the “Valley of Baca” (Trouble) but it is yet another opportunity for me to apply all that I learned on the mountain tops and valleys of past seasons so that I can see Christ established in me all the more. My prayer is that my journey can help others.

If you are in a mountain top season; gather fruit, drink deep of the cool rivers of refreshing and listen to the voice that is clear. If you are in the hill country enjoy the grace of the abiding and steady growth. And if you are in the valley gorge let faith cause you to step forward into the unknown, let the clear voice that you heard on the mountaintop echo into your silence, let the testimonies of old prophesy to your hope– and get still enough to let His love envelope you. In every one of these places and seasons…above all else, REMAIN IN HIS LOVE.

His love is the one sure thing in every place and every season. No matter what lies ahead, His love will be there. No matter what is happening now, His love is with you. No matter what lies behind, His love covers it all. You can move forward as you are held tight in the grip of His everlasting love. His love will never fail you or leave you in want.

Remain in me, and I will remain in you. For a branch cannot produce fruit if it is severed from the vine, and you cannot be fruitful unless you remain in me. “Yes, I am the vine; you are the branches. Those who remain in me, and I in them, will produce much fruit. For apart from me you can do nothing. John 15:4-5

Remain in His love and watch what beautiful fruit your life will produce in every season.

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