Bovines and Beer

Whilst I flounder in obscurity over many things, laughter still finds it's entrance. Ironically, God has matched me up with a housemate who lives in the same dry place where I seem to spend a lot of my time these days. We are two women who love their Lord intensely, but at present, feel as if they have been cut off from His
affections. Still, we are devoted to the One who stole our heart and soul, determined to obey even if it kills us.

As our spirits dehydrate in the desert of doubt and disillusion, we do encounter oasis' of amusement to relieve us from time to time. The most recent source of refreshment came from bovines and beer. A few days ago, we were discussing the rarities of Bolivia. Particularly, we were commenting on the fact that the corner bookstore sells cerveza. As we amused ourselves with this oddity, I looked out the window and said,"Alison, there is a large cow standing at our door." To assure myself that this was no mirage, I took some footage of the beast, which I would post if I knew how.

The desert, or the "dark night" as Manning defines it, "is a very real place, as anyone who has been there will tell you"....it is "marked by dryness, barrenness, desolation, and a profound sense of God's absence. The dark night is an indispensable stage of spiritual growth..."

If I could, I'd take the red-eye out of this dark night and fly to a place a little more comfortable and familiar. In fact, when my mom told me how much I was getting back in taxes, I thought,"Hmm, enough to get me home and then some!" Amidst my musings, a verse came to mind,

"Consider it a sheer gift, friends, when tests and challenges come at you from all sides. You know that under pressure, your faith-life is forced into the open and shows its true colours. So, don't try to get out of anything prematurely. Let it do it's work so you become mature and well-developed, not deficient in any way." James 1:2-4

Thankfully, my dark night is marked with moments of hilarity, but that doesn't change my Houdini tendancies. I face a sand dune of a decision; will I scale this mountain of blazing granules or balk and flee for familiar shores? If the restlessness of the dark night or the strength sapping desert is what I need to endure for development and growth, then switch off the lights and turn up the heat. This weary wanderer has no desire to be a spiritual runt.