New Life in the Wasteland

As we've been talking about what this month was like in Gettysburg in 1863, I ran across this blog post which originally was published in 2013, just a few weeks after Widow of Gettysburg released. It's worth sharing again today. (Some of you may remember that our guest blogger, Kimberly Drew, is now my co-author for a new devotional book for parents of children with special needs children, too!)

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Today we have special guest blogger Kimberly Drew sharing her heart with us. Kimberly recently finished reading my latest novel, Widow of Gettysburg, and found that several of the concepts discussed between the characters related to her own life as the parent of a child with special needs. She says. . . There were several quotes throughout the book that grabbed my attention, but this one in particular has been running through my mind today. “Where we think there is wasteland, God will bring new life.”

As the parent of a child with multiple handicaps, there have been seasons of my life where I felt like I was living in, and surrounded by a wasteland.  Doctor’s appointments, therapies, insurance battles, isolation, grief, and fear sucked every last bit of energy from my spirit.  I was recalling with my mother-in-law just this morning that during the early years of Abbey’s diagnosis, I felt like I would never get out of the emotional wasteland I was living in.   I couldn’t see relief in the future, I couldn’t feel God’s presence (even though it was always there), and uncertainty seemed to be overwhelming my ability to grasp and deal with our situation. Perhaps while you’re reading this, you can relate to one or all of those feelings.  I want to encourage you to never forget that God is in the business of making all things beautiful in His time.  If you had told me eleven years ago that there would come a time in my life that I would thank God for allowing Abbey to become disabled, I never would have believed you.  I barely believe it now!  But it’s true.  Somewhere deep in my heart, God has tenderly spoken kindness and mercy over my pain.  Where there once was a wasteland of isolation, now there are new and invaluable relationships.  Where fear of the unknown robbed my joy, my trust and faith in His plan allows me to laugh freely and often as a part of my day.  The horizon of my heart was once a barren and empty black hole of grief, and today it is so very full of the lessons I’ve learned about God’s character and compassion for me. Isn’t it amazing that while I was looking around and feeling and finding nothing, deep underneath the layers of my heart God was planting something new? There beneath the cracks in my faith, a tiny seed of hope was growing.  This seed needed deep roots to withstand its environment.  Out of the wasteland, God brought new life.  This life is more transparent, vulnerable, and authentic than it ever could have been if someone had planted it in the lush and fertile soil of ease. Now it's your turn. If you'd feel comfortable sharing, how has God brought new life out of what seemed like a wasteland in your own life?