The Importance of Being There
I have much to write to you, but I do not want to use paper and ink. Instead, I hope to visit you and talk with you face to face, so that our joy may be complete.—2 John 1:12 (NIV)
See, I am doing a new thing! Now it springs up; do you not perceive it? I am making a way in the wilderness and streams in the wasteland.—ISAIAH 43:19 (NIV)
My husband was diagnosed with schizophrenia when our four daughters were all under the age of eight. I found myself mentally exhausted, trying to understand my husband’s behavior while raising our children. Often, my downtime was just doing the most mind-numbing thing I could think of—watching TV. It provided me with something familiar during a time of confusion and uncertainty. However, one night I realized it was no longer helping me. I asked God to direct me toward something that might bring me joy and sustain me during my wilderness experience. I couldn’t leave my two infant children alone with my husband, so whatever it was needed to be something I could do at home.
One afternoon in the checkout line at the grocery store, a magazine on house floor plans caught my eye. I bought it on a whim, but discovered during the following week that I loved looking at floor plans! Looking turned into creating as I began drawing floor plans for all the various dream homes I imagined—who knew I had so many dream houses in me! God was doing a new thing for me—providing me with a hobby that brought me true joy in a time of otherwise uncertainty.
God, your creativity is infinite, and each day can bring something new. Help me to remember that when I am open and trusting, you will make a way on the path of this caregiving wilderness.
I have much to write to you, but I do not want to use paper and ink. Instead, I hope to visit you and talk with you face to face, so that our joy may be complete.—2 John 1:12 (NIV)
Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our troubles, so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves receive from God.—2 Corinthians 1:3–4 (NIV)
The one who gets wisdom loves life; the one who cherishes understanding will soon prosper.—Proverbs 19:8 (NIV)