the way through the unknown

Coffeehouses have a culture... each one their own. The one I am in today is full of bustling community. I'm in an area of town where I'm not usually, so I don't know anyone... but it seems like everyone else does. Everyone who walks in greets someone else, an appointment in their day whether expected or unexpected. There is connection and continuity here.

I want to have words, but I honestly don't... I'm walking through a week with a number of question marks floating over my head, and it's hard to write without any conclusions. So I think I'm going to just drop a few bullet points here of things I've been observing and learning about stages that are more wilderness than not.

Notes to myself about the wilderness:

• tell someone about it. We shared a burden awhile back with some friends, and since then it has been nearly impossible to pick it back up. It's like I am unable to stoop down and retrieve it. Sharing it made it impossible to retract, and therefore impossible to carry on my own again. I also recently observed this in the life of someone else. She shared a burden in a group, and through prayer the situation changed overnight.

• continue to do the next right thing. No matter how unknown the unknown is, there are still things that need to be done right. now. There are still people to serve, lessons to learn, places to go.

• don't isolate yourself. Lean into people, situations, and events. Invest deeply and relationally. Refuse to allow Satan to convince you that everyone else is living normal lives, and yours is so different.

• learn to associate peace and trust with storms, not calm. In stages of discomfort, I want to know things so that I can feel more peaceful, but increasingly God is urging me toward peace and trust even when I do not know things. No matter what if, He is my peace and I can live restfully in Him.

• the very nature of the wilderness is that it is tedious, monotonous, and long. But that is part of the beauty of the wilderness. This is the journey. And the journey is what we're here for.

A recurring theme through a number of my wilderness notes is that I must continue to dig deep roots in Jesus, with the people around me. I need to walk into the coffeehouse of my life, greet a friend, and allow myself to be known.