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When You’ve Prayed, Planted, and Still See No Fruit
Encouragement, Comfort, trials, Weary, Spiritual Growth Dana Rongione Encouragement, Comfort, trials, Weary, Spiritual Growth Dana Rongione

When You’ve Prayed, Planted, and Still See No Fruit

I've become a bit of a field-watcher lately, and I promise it's not as strange as it sounds. As I've mentioned, there's a pasture directly behind our house here in Wales. Over the past several months, I've had a front-row seat to its entire transformation, and let me tell you, it's been quite the show.

It started out gorgeous. Tall grasses waved in the breeze like something out of a storybook, and I'd look out my window and think, Well, isn't that just lovely? It was rhythmic and calming, much like watching ocean waves. Honestly, I could have watched that field sway all day.

Then one morning, I looked out, and the grasses were gone, cut clean down. What had been lush and lovely was now dry, short, and a little sad-looking. I remember thinking, Well, that's depressing!

But the field wasn't finished with its dramatic arc. Next came the manure.

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The Weight Is Real, But So Is The One Holding You
Comfort, Encouragement, Overwhelmed, Weary Dana Rongione Comfort, Encouragement, Overwhelmed, Weary Dana Rongione

The Weight Is Real, But So Is The One Holding You

I have a confession to make. For most of my Christian life, I read Psalm 55:22 the same way I read a coupon: quickly, hopefully, and mostly for what it could do for me. "Cast thy burden upon the LORD, and he shall sustain thee." I always pictured it like handing off a heavy suitcase at the airport counter. “Here, God, take this. Now, please, make the bad thing stop.”

But lately, my hands have been too full and too shaky to keep handing things off one at a time. Between chronic illness flare-ups, deadlines breathing down my neck, and the general exhaustion of trying to hold my little corner of the world together, I haven't just been carrying a burden. I've felt like I was the one about to come apart, bolt by bolt, seam by seam, like an old rocking chair that creaks a little louder every time you sit in it. (And, yes, there are literal creaks!)

So this week, I went digging a little deeper into this verse, and friends, what I found didn't just satisfy me. It undid me in the best possible way.

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What To Do With Your 2 a.m. Worries
Comfort, peace, Anxiety, Worry, Rise Up and Build, Encouragement Dana Rongione Comfort, peace, Anxiety, Worry, Rise Up and Build, Encouragement Dana Rongione

What To Do With Your 2 a.m. Worries

For the most part, I’m a morning person.  I don’t enjoy getting up super early these days, especially as the dark night seems to stretch on until well after 8:00. But overall, I function better in the mornings.  My body aches less.  My brain feels more alert. My motivation and discipline seem to be higher. Yes, give me the mornings, and I can get things accomplished.

That being said, by about 2:00 in the afternoon, I’m crashing, and by 6:00, I’m of no use to anyone!  Yes, by 6:00, I have to walk away from the desk, the housework, and any other demands on my mind and body, and start winding down for the night.

So, my real struggle isn't the mornings or even the afternoons. It's the nights.

You know the kind of nights I mean. The house finally goes quiet. Everyone else is asleep.

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Still Standing: What Wildfires Taught Me About Surviving Hard Seasons
Comfort, Encouragement, Trials, Spiritual Growth, Spiritual Warfare Dana Rongione Comfort, Encouragement, Trials, Spiritual Growth, Spiritual Warfare Dana Rongione

Still Standing: What Wildfires Taught Me About Surviving Hard Seasons

If you've been watching the news, you've probably heard that Wales has had its driest, hottest summer since records began. July was the driest in nearly 200 years, and by mid-August, some parts of the country had received a meager six percent of the expected rainfall. Six percent! My garden looks less like a garden and more like a crunchy doormat. Even Henrhyd Falls (known as Batman Falls from The Dark Knight Rises) has run completely dry for the first time in recorded history. When Batman's waterfall stops falling, you know things are serious.

Naturally, all this heat and drought have turned Wales into kindling. Firefighters across England and Wales have battled nearly a thousand wildfires already this year, with fires occurring frequently through the first weeks of August alone. The large, dramatic blazes have mostly hit the south, but even here in mid-Wales, smaller fires have popped up along our hillsides.

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