Held in the Shade

Our family has been on a long stretch of hardship this summer. We still are if I'm being honest. The kind of hardship that doesn't need explained right now, but that hurts and suffocates and seems endless.

A little ways into the hard, Shaun and I were walking around a fitness trail debating whether to cut the walk in half or finish the whole loop. Cutting the walk in half seemed easier to one of us, finishing the loop seemed easier to the other. 

Finishing the loop would have taken more steps but would have provided lots of places of shade to help us escape the heat pounding down the shorter stretch of pavement. In the end, we took the shorter way. Together. Because that's how we choose to do life -- whether we agree or disagree, whether it's wonderful or miserable, whether it's easy or impossible.

About midway through the shortcut God spoke a vivid truth to my heart. The shorter way isn't always the best way. When life gets hard we tend to look for the easiest way out. We are afraid of pain and difficulty. Somehow we end up angry at God for not providing a fast and easy solution to our discomfort. We are such snots, aren't we? If we would put on some brave and follow His longer route, we would discover the gift of resting in the shade of His wings. Without hardship, we aren't desperate enough to seek Him, blessed enough to find Him, or humble enough to know Him.

Next time you face something that feels hard and uncomfortable, don't panic. Be brave. He's holding a shady spot just for you!