Holding Onto Hope During Life’s Drizzles
Oh, the weather in Wales can be as unpredictable as my fibromyalgia! For the month of October, we are dog-sitting for some friends, which means there are two dogs underfoot, two dogs to feed, two dogs to walk, and two doggie schedules to work around. Well, today, Jason is working at the Community Luncheon Club, which leaves me on dog duty for the day. I had resigned to the fact that I was not likely going to get much accomplished, but I was leery about how and when to do our daily walk. That brings me to the Welsh weather.
The entire morning has been drizzly, so I knew it would likely be a wet walk. Still, I was hopeful.
A Fulfilled Hope
Hope deferred maketh the heart sick: but when the desire cometh, it is a tree of life. - Proverbs 13:12
For nearly four years, the first part of that verse has rung true in my life. My heart has been sick. Wales consumed my thoughts, and I wanted nothing more than to be in that country and with those people. But there was a process that had to be followed, so for over three years, we traveled the United States, going to church after church to present our burden. And while the traveling was—well, shall we say exciting?—my heart ached. It wasn’t that I didn’t want to meet other people. It wasn’t that I was longing to leave my family. It’s just that the Lord had planted in my heart a love for the people of Wales, and as long as I was away from that country, I felt out of sorts.