the Season of Winter
The very first sentence in my devotional reading rang so clear, it was as if God had spoken out loud to me.
“Abraham had excepted without question the promise of a son but he did not wait for God to fulfill His word.”
From the very beginning of this journey God had made it very plain that painting was His gifted ministry for me. So when things came to a screeching halt my heart went into deep soul searching. After three years of pouring my heart and soul into my art it had began to take off. I became so busy painting, filling orders and attending promotional events that it had become a job that I had to budget time for. Then all of a sudden the brakes came on. The phone went silent, the emails went silent. Everything I tried either failed or was delayed beyond my control. Things stopped so suddenly that it threw me off balance and left me crumpled in an emotional heap.
I joined Facebook groups on social media marketing looking for answers. Most of what I learned was such marketing is riddled with schemes and deception. It only left my heart emptier.
I again grasped hold of the Promises and started a Facebook group for sharing them. (Click here to view group) I posted the cry of my heart on it. “…No one is able to plan his own course. So correct me, Lord, but please be gentle.” Jeremiah 10:23 NLT I knew God hadn’t left me but I could not understand His silence.
As the words in my devotional reading jumped out at me I knew in my heart where I had gone wrong. In the whirlwind of “success” I was in danger of running ahead of God and messing up His plans for me. He knew I needed the season of “winter” to rest and reflect.
I got up from my chair and headed out to work in our cherry orchard. As I worked my heavy burden got lighter and lighter. I knew God had never left me, in fact He had drawn Himself even closer to me. I was at peace and would patiently wait for Him to act.
That very evening the silence began to break. God began to reveal to me the direction that I should take and lifted a roadblock that stood in the way. Indeed He was fulfilling His promise to instruct and teach me but even more importantly He was watching over me.
