3:17 Though the fig tree do not blossom, nor fruit be on the vines, the produce of the olive fail and the fields yield no food, the flock be cut off from the fold and there be no herd in the stalls, 3:18 yet I will rejoice in the LORD, I will joy in the God of my salvation.


Faith in the Dry Seasons, by Rubel Shelly

My friend wrote me about his marriage. "It is a dry season for us," he admitted to me as a confidant. "There has been much stress of late and
very little hope of relief in the near future. But we press on. We find our joy in little things. I am thankful for her, and I know she feels
secure in my love for her."

There is something wise, deep, and very spiritual about that perspective. It stayed in my mind for days. It lets me know he is the
good and decent man I thought him to be. My respect for him has grown from what he saw as a sad confession of a dry season in his marriage.
How fortunate is his beloved wife!

Then there was the voicemail from another friend. "Please call as soon as you have time," she said. There was an urgency to her request that I
recognized. My fear was that it reflected a struggle that has been going on in her life for almost three years now. So I phoned almost
immediately. And she told about the feelings that were tugging at her. The addiction will not turn loose, but she is determined not to be
dragged down without a fight. Then she used the term. "I feel like I am in a dry place with my life," she lamented. "After the divorce, I am so
lonely -- and vulnerable. I need something to fill the void in my soul. But the closest and easiest things are the ones I know will only make
the pain worse. It is so hard not to give in, and I just don't know if I can hold on much longer."

This afternoon, I sat down to think about what might be worth sharing with you. In order to focus my thoughts, I pulled down my much-valued
copy of a devotional collection of writings from C.S. Lewis. There, on a page already dog-eared, was this highlighted line: "Hence the prayers
offered in the state of dryness are those which please God best."

It reveals who we really are!

Do you hear the recurring theme? My friend's marriage is in a "dry season." Another's personal life feels like "a dry place." Now I read
about praying when one's soul is in a "state of dryness." Is it a sign of sorts to a theme worth thinking about? Or is it just the ongoing
truth of the human condition? Life is not all fun and games, and relationships -- even with God -- are hard to maintain. We go dry.

What one does in those times of dryness reveals who she really is! To use it as the excuse for walking away, giving in, or giving up says one
thing. To see it as a time of testing when holy purpose must trump inconsistent feelings and commitment must be put above momentary desire
says something very different.

Maybe an ancient writer was experiencing this same testing of faith in a dry season when he wrote these beautiful lines: "As the deer pants
for streams of water, so my soul pants for you, O God" (Psalm 42:1).
I hope he survived his dry season and found renewal. I pray as much for you.

---------
  (c) 2008 Used by permission. From Rubel Shelly <rshelly@rc.edu>'s
  "FAX of Life" printed each Tuesday. See Faith Matters for
  previous issues of the "FAX of Life."


--
"The control center of your life is your attitude." ~ Norman Cousins