My dreams were scattered all over the place. What I had hoped for was not materializing. Expectations of next steps were falling flat and I felt stuck. I had recently experienced some success, and now the winds had stopped blowing.
To distract me from myself, my husband and I went on a camping trip to the mountains of North Carolina. As we hiked up and down mountain paths, discovering beautiful scenery and all kinds of foliage and wildlife, I was beginning to feel better.
But then, it happened. Something so stupid, so preventable occurred. As I was stepping out of a tent, my foot caught on the zippered bottom section, and my body twisted around and I fell to the ground. Instantly, I knew my foot was hurt.
As I was lifted up off the ground, my foot began to throb. When asked to put weight on it, I realized it was worse than I had imagined.
In 1 Kings 19, Elijah had just experienced a spiritual high. He had demonstrated that God was alive and Baal was not. He has put the worshippers of Baal to the test by having them try to get their god to start a fire. When no fire started, He had his pile of wood soaked and then asked God to create a blaze. It was a spectacular demonstration of God’s power and should have given him lots of faith.
But as we all know, we usually sink into valleys after we visit the mountain tops. For Elijah, he encountered Jezebel, a queen that wanted him dead. So he retreated to a cave and stayed there until God came and whispered in his ear his next purpose.
The evening before we left the campground, I fell and am now in bed with two fractures in my ankle. Surgery is going to happen next week and I am trying to figure out what God is whispering to me. It definitely isn’t the message I would’ve requested, but I’m sure there is a word of wisdom in this time.
Vern has been by my side almost the entire time I’ve been lying in bed. His presence has been calm and given me lots of peace.
