Holler For Adventures: First Hand Planned Inexperiences.

I can tell you first hand that this summer isn't at all what I had anticipated or predicted several months ago. My joy oozes through the exhaustion that is our peak season here at Solid Rock Outdoor Ministries. Whether it is young new life or old weathered life you can learn and anticipate that you simply can't anticipate anything at all. you can simply hope for the best and try to plan for the worst.

7Since no one knows the future,

who can tell someone else what is to come?

8As no one has power over the wind to contain it,

so no one has power over the time of their death.

As no one is discharged in time of war,

so wickedness will not release those who practice it."

-Ecclesiastes 8:7-8

No need to be alarmed, no one has died. However I can safely say that in the first 2 months of marriage thus far my groom and I have never been more consistently sick. We are both not the kinds of people who have struggling immune systems or injure easily so needless to say this current season and the recent seasons leading up to now have been very trying and mixed with feelings of defeat.

After returning from my 10 days in the wilderness working for Solid Rock Outdoor Ministries, I came home to find a very sick puppy. He had gone to urgent care and been given an anti-biotic and was told it could be a lot of things and that didn't rule out the possibility of lymphoma... However the antibiotics weren't helping and he still had a fever. We later went to the ER and had blood tests done that showed his white blood cell count was slightly below normal but nothing of concern. His liver count was a bit high and so was the pain behind his eyes. They ruled out Meningitis but when his fever spiked again a few days later we returned to have more blood taken and an ultra sound scheduled because he was having swelling in the liver and spleen areas on top of the lymph nodes in his neck. We have been told that it is most likely a viral infection. Regular pain medication, rest and hydration will be the best remedy. However we are still keeping tabs on his Liver count because it is still high.

Rarely have I ever gone to the ER. The majority of the times I've gone I've been too young to remember. So to be taking my new spouse, my other half into the uncertainty of what we will find out, I was really nervous. But this is where I left it. When we walked out of the second ER visit, I left that burden in the room. God has this and there is clear reason for this... However as wise as that may seem or not seem, I know that there is no way I will comprehend the backside of this tapestry to provide clear answers currently. Fever broke, and as I type this he is cat napping in all parts of the apartment.

For many might read this and feel thankful, bitter or grief in various other outcomes that may have happened in personal experiences. And perhaps still working through those emotions and broken heart syndrome of loosing loved ones. I will say it again, "As wise as that may seem or not seem, I know that there is no way I will comprehend the backside of this tapestry to provide clear answers currently in anyone's life circumstances.

"There is something else meaningless that occurs on earth: the righteous who get what the wicked deserve, and the wicked who get what the righteous deserve. This too, I say, is meaningless."- Ecclesiastes 8:14

Fever broke, and as I type this he is cat napping in all parts of the apartment.

In conversation last night at bible study we had spoken of how God really does have a sense of humor. We also spoke of the incredible opportunity and freedom that we have to seek Gods perspective and ask his desires into our hearts. We talked about how we can often bring our own expectations and then blame God for not answering prayers based on our personal expectation of how we want Him to answer our prayers when truth be told he answers all prayers in his own way whether that it hardening a heart to prevent hurt, softening a heart to show truth and light or working His timing. His timeline not our own.

"Who is like the wise?

Who Knows the explanation of things?

A person's wisdom brightens their face and changes its hard appearance.

2Obey the King's command, I say, because you took an oath before God.

3Do not be in a hurry to leave the King's presence. Do not stand up for a bad cause, for he will do whatever he pleases. 4Since a king's word is supreme, who can say to him, "what are you doing?"

5Who ever obeys his command will come to no harm,

and the wise heart will know the proper time and procedure.

6For there is a proper time and procedure for every matter,

though a person may be weighed down by misery.

7Since no one knows the future,

who can tell someone else what is to come?

8As no one has power over the wind to contain it,

so no one has power over the time of their death.

As no one is discharged in time of war,

so wickedness will not release those who practice it."

-Ecclesiastes 8:1-6

Go ahead and pause and red the entirety of chapter 8 and chapter 9 while you're there. Let it sink in and let that weight roll off your back a little bit in know that Solomon is indeed a wise, wise man.

I particularly like verses 14-15 : "There is something else meaningless that occurs on earth: the righteous who get what the wicked deserve, and the wicked who get what the righteous deserve. This too, I say, is meaningless. 15 I commend the enjoyment of life, because there is nothing better for a person under the sun that to eat and drink and be glad. Then joy will accompany them in their toil all the days of the life God has given them under the sun."

Truth be told I am exhausted... What else is new? So perhaps in the midst of hardship and changing of seasons, I will simply be and eat, drink and be glad. Enjoy the views and enjoy the company as God continues to set my feet into each of these days under the sun.