A Week in the Fog

It's my usual response to withdraw...when I'm hurt, when I'm worried, when I'm struggling.

Last week was one of those weeks when the perfect storm hits, and I was dealing with all three because of a set of circumstances. The dark cloud descended, and I felt smothered, dampened and heavy.



That's tough for a girl with a wiring for sunny. I have some friends with sensitive souls and insightful hearts that wrestle with depression regularly. I'm more shallow and don't fight the fog as often :), and I'm usually annoyingly glass half full.

But even though I was hiding out from my bloggy friends (sunny dispositions hate to bring others down more than just about anything---yes, I recognize the pride), I was drawing close to Jesus, and that's a huge step for me. I tend towards withdrawing from the very One who's beside me in the fog.

He's been saying things like:
"I've got this."
"Listen with compassion."
"Speak with grace."
"Worship to dispense the fog."
"Focus on others."

Those are the lessons that I was learning last week as I dealt with some hard things, some personal failure and the fear of the unknown.

And in the midst of the dark cloud, I did reach out my arm to ask for some help. Jesus met me in the sweetest ways. He prompted hearts to pray. He gave words of encouragement in the mouths of the unaware. He gave me an amazing answer to prayer.



Was it all wrapped up in a neat, beautiful bow? No. Was He the faithful Counselor? Yes. Did He continue to teach, mold and shape me? Oh, definitely yes. And in the end I'm thankful for a week spent in the fog.