Glimpses of Eden

My little corner of southeastern Virginia is under a layer of icy white. As I write this, I hear that today is the coldest day Virginia has experienced in 20 years? I'm not sure if that's true, but I'd believe it. This isn't the typical Virginia snow. This snow has come and stayed and re-froze and kept schools closed for a whole week. Folks are driving way slower (or should be), spontaneous, snowed-in sleepovers happen more often, and life is just a little bit slower.

The lack of homework and racing around has given me a lot of time to reflect on where the Lord has brought me, even in such a short time. A friend I haven't seen in two months swung by, and asked me about some rocky things that I was going through back in December, and it was so humbling to realize that these were things I didn't even struggle with anymore. The Lord has such a sneaky way of doing His work that sometimes it takes those sort of conversations to make you realize where He's been moving and you haven't even noticed. Even in two short months, I have way less health issues, my family is peaceful, and I have experienced so much healing.

How does He do it? I don't even know. But He has good plans, and good methods.
This morning I stumbled upon Isaiah 51:3:

"The LORD will comfort Zion...

He will make her desert like Eden

and her wilderness

like the LORD's garden.

Happiness and joy will be found in her -

thanks and the sound of singing."

Last semester I was experiencing mental and emotional breakdowns every week, my physical health was steadily declining for mysterious reasons, and every moment was a fight to just keep moving in the right direction and keep swinging. I remember reading this verse and realizing that I doubted the Lord's ability to heal and restore areas of my body, my mind, and my heart because they were characteristics of the Lord that I had not experienced. So I cried out "I do believe; help me overcome my unbelief!" (Mark 9:24)

I have so far to go, and I know the Lord is far from finished with me. But I'm seeing glimpses of Eden, and seeing areas of my life go from "wilderness" to the "garden of the Lord." And it's beautiful, and encouraging and humbling.