Okay, so I confess that lately I have been in what my grandmother used to call the mulligrubs. Yes, my friends, that is a real word and it means that I have been bad-tempered and grumpy. Most people who don’t know me well would not have noticed because I hide my feelings, but I am certain that my poor husband has felt the brunt of my dissatisfaction with life in general. Anyway, this morning started as most do, with morning meds, feeding the cat and then sitting down with a heating pad against my back while I start reading my devotionals and my Bible. Zing! Right between the eyes!

Well! This verse really spoke to my heart today! I have been in the mulligrubs since I found out two weeks ago that once again I have to give up foods that I enjoy because of a health condition. This time, I have to eat only low potassium foods and believe me, from one who reads labels constantly, that is no easy thing. Gone…all of the canned soups that I enjoy, even the low sodium ones that I have eaten since my stroke. Gone…the clementines that I had daily just because I like their sweetness. Gone…all tomato products, including tomato sauce and catsup. And gone…milk chocolate! You get the idea. I was feeling bad for me. Poor me! I have a kidney that is not cooperating and as a result, if I want to continue to live (which at points during the last two weeks I was not sure I did, to be honest), I have to follow these new restrictions. I’m sure that God has tired of my whining, and in His grace and mercy He spoke to me this morning with this verse.

I may not get to enjoy certain foods, but God is still right there with me. God is carrying me through this current valley and one day I will be delivered from it. I personally think that day will come when He carries me to Heaven to be with Him eternally, but the Scriptures don’t really say. I just needed the hope that comes from believing that all in my life may change, but God does not. You would think that after almost five decades of walking with Him I would have already known this. In my heart of hearts, I’m sure I have known it, but I needed a reminder, a gentle push in the right direction, if you will.

This was an eye-opening verse for me. I wanted things to stay the same. After all, I had gotten used to my low sodium diet and was almost content with it. Then I was zapped with the new diet and the complaints began. Nothing tasted good or enticed me to eat much. But God tells me in His Word that He is doing a new thing. My wilderness right now is a new diet and I sincerely believe that God is going to create something good and new in this situation, like rivers in a desert. I don’t know how He is going to do it; I just know that He is because He loves me and wants me to know that He is right there with me, in my wilderness, taking care of me through this valley.

My question to you, my friends, is what wilderness are you in today that you need to trust God to supply water for you? In what way does God need to carry and deliver you? God supplies our needs: physically, spiritually and emotionally. I may not like where I am, but that is just what it is. Did the fact that my kidney function is going down surprise God? Of course not! Did He already know that I would need to change my dietary habits in many significant ways? I’m sure that He did, but He wasn’t at all bothered by it or by the fact that I have been in the mulligrubs. He has brought me out of the mulligrubs into a place of new thankfulness for His loving care and provision. As I eat my blueberry cheerios with almond milk today, I will be thankful that there are things that I can still eat. Perspective changes when God gets hold of you; instead of thinking of all that I can no longer eat or drink, I am thankful that I can eat or drink some things and that God has provided us with enough funds to buy those things.

“Desert Song” by Hillsong

May you each find your way through the wilderness to the place of rest in Him. God bless you!