When I'm Found in the Desert Place. . .

     There was a day when I would rejoice in sunshine everyday no matter what the temperature. We spent our summer days at the local swimming pool where the hotter the better. I remember coming home after a day at the pool, wet and freezing in the air conditioning until I ran back to my room to warm up. Our bedroom doors were kept closed so that the air conditioning unit in the dining room window could cool the common areas of my parents' house: the family and living room were the only cool rooms and they were freezing! Kids were acclimated to warm temperatures back then and spent lots of time running around outside in the heat. We didn't need air conditioning and rainy days put a damper on our summer plans.
    Today, however, in the middle of this drought I realize the necessity of God's gift of rainy days. Our land is dried out and the ground is cracking where lush green grasses would normally be growing over soft fertile soil. The horses have combed two pastures and left nothing but dust and short brown clumps of grass roots behind. It is mid-June and I have already started putting large, round bales out for the horses to eat. We normally don't set out bales until November or the first part of December. They come off the bales in mid March. Normally, with adequate spring showers and an occasional shower in June the pastures can sustain the herd until the cooler weather and light rains come in September.
    I just have to say that God really does know what is best for us. The winter of 2010-2011 was so harsh and we had so much snow that my spring hay crop produced over 90 bales of hay in two fields that normally are lucky to yield 55 bales. It was such a difficult winter for us getting around in the snow and freezing temperatures that froze water tanks, broke hoses, and stalled out tractors. Last fall, I prayed for a mild winter and God answered my prayer. We only had a dusting of snow and I didn't have to clear my driveway once. There was no shoveling, no frozen hoses, no stalled tractors, and most days I got by with a light jacket. It was the easiest winter I'd ever had to work at the ranch.
     Then came the reality of what a dry, mild winter would mean to the ranch. It was a drought in disguise. Last spring and early June, we could hardly find a weekend to ride that wasn't drenched with rain and mud. This June I am praying for rain. I have fresh seed in a pasture that desperately needs water, the horses have ate all the grass and there is no new grass growing to replace it, and even the ponds are drying up. We don't have ragweed that took over the pastures last year in the moist, swampy conditions. Even the ragweed and burrs don't have enough moisture to grow. The only plants that seem to be thriving are the short sticky plants that grow out of the deep cracks in the dry hard land.
     So now my prayer is, "God- I am sorry that I didn't trust you to take care of me in the winter conditions that challenge us on the ranch. Even though for seven years you have always provided everything we needed to get through them. Whether a kind neighbor who stopped by and plowed my driveway before I got home from work or a natural water source the horses found when the tanks froze over, you have always taken care of us. I am sorry for thinking I needed to change the conditions you provided for our good in order to get through the winter. It is obvious you know what is best for the survival of the ranch. Today, I pray for rain but I also trust that you will provide all we need in this drought as well."

"The Lord says, 

         I am the Lord your God, who led you out of Egypt. You have no God but me. I alone am your savior. I took care of you in a dry, desert land. But when you entered the good land, you became full and satisfied, and then you grew proud and forgot me. --Hosea 13:4-6 GNT

"Thank you, Lord, for reminding me who you are. You are my God in abundance and in drought! Blessed be your name." 

Blessed be Your name

In the land that is plentiful
Where the streams of abundance flow
Blessed be Your name

Blessed be Your name
When I'm found in the desert place
Though I walk through the wilderness
Blessed be Your name

Every blessing You pour out
I'll turn back to praise
When the darkness closes in, Lord
Still I will say

Blessed be the name of the Lord
Blessed be Your name
Blessed be the name of the Lord
Blessed be Your glorious name

Lyrics by Matt Redman   (Click to worship with You Tube version)