Seasons of Separation = Closeness

We all have our shares of struggles, times of trial, and sin that separates. The hardship is usually tough and we all seem to hold our breath for better days when the season is at a close. A lot of the time, grumbling is involved throughout the painful process. I'm guilty. I tend to get selfish and think how unfair the problems seem or question why I can't just let go of the things that create severance with the Father. We would all like to live the good life 100% of the time. I mean, we were created with this eternal perspective in mind; I'm talking about living with the Father eternally in Heaven one day, presumably. But what if we took on our struggles and separation with a different view in mind. 

This weekend, the girls and I took a long weekend to visit my extended family leaving my husband behind due to his work. It was the first weekend the girls and I have ever been separated from Kyle. The time apart was hard on us both, but we were both looking forward to the moment that our hearts would be physically joined back together. And even in such a short time away from each other, it brought us a little closer and appreciate each other with more excitement. I don't really need to repeat the "absence makes the heart grow fonder" quote here, do I? ::smile:: 

Last night, upon our return, as Kyle tucked the girls away in their own little cribs at three in the morning, the overwhelming smile on sweet Essie's face was priceless. Even she was so full of joy to see her Daddy and be back in her little baby bed again. She was smiling ear to ear and you could see it radiate even in the dark. 

What if we looked at our difficult chapters in life with this example? What if we took on our trials with more anticipation of what God had in store for our futures rather than to grumble and 'Ba-humbug' away the consecutive bad days? I mean, He is trying to teach us something valuable here, right? Maybe even something that will teach others or strengthen us in the future even in our failures. We can only see in 20/20 hindsight while God is navigating ahead and always with plans to prosper us (Jeremiah 29:11). 

In the mist, we call home more - pray and seek out the Father. Our hearts yearn and anticipate Him. We tend to open our ears, wait for His words, and yearn for Him to make His presence known.

The trying season brings forth a season of closeness with Him that we never thought possible. He embraces us with His overwhelming love and grace.  We grow! We learn even more aspects of each attribute of who He is. It brings us closer and strengthens our relationship with Him, and ultimately He reveals more of our identity in Him. All of which make us little Esther's in a world of darkness...our joy overflows to those around us when all is right again.

^{2 Corinthians 4:16-18 "}That is why we never give up. Though our bodies are dying, our spirits are being renewed every day. ¹⁷ For our present troubles are small and won’t last very long. Yet they produce for us a glory that vastly outweighs them and will last forever! ¹⁸ So we don’t look at the troubles we can see now; rather, we fix our gaze on things that cannot be seen. For the things we see now will soon be gone, but the things we cannot see will last forever."

An Esther Smile