Visitor

"God, why I am here. Why is this a part of my story. Why won't this season end?" These were all the thoughts running through my brain regarding the current season I am walking through, that I didn't choose. Something caught my eye and I looked down and noticed I was still wearing my 'visitor' sticker, I angrily tore it off my shirt because it was a reminder that this was NOT supposed to be a part of my journey. I stared at this sticker for a long time as I sat at a red light and then God gently said, "you are just a visitor in this season, you are not meant to grow roots or build a home here. You fight, you learn, you trust, you grow and you keep moving forward."

Life is made up of seasons, some are filled with joy and harvest and you feel like you are standing at the top of the mountain, able to take in all of the beauty around you. But then there are seasons where you are right in the middle of a valley where things get dark and hard to navigate and you feel like you are fighting for your sanity, your joy, your peace and your confidence DAILY. These times are tough because these are the times we will rise up, fight and trust OR we can allow these seasons to cut us too deep and damage us, leaving us bitter, angry, resentful and offended.

Sometimes when the valley seasons get too long for us we can allow ourselves to put roots in the ground because we believe this is all life has to offer us and there is no light at the end of this tunnel. We can feel isolated and abandoned and we wonder "God where are you?" We can begin to make our home in the valley allowing it to become a part of our identity and becoming all too comfortable with the pain wearing it like some sort of dysfunctional security blanket.

God doesn't want us to be occupants of the valley He wants us to have the mindset of, "I am just a visitor" where our mission and mindset is that we are going to learn, grow, trust, fight and walk out victorious. In the valley we need God's strength to lead us because often times we don't know what else to do, all of our human attempts at being victorious have failed because these battles are too big for us to win without Him. God uses human weakness to put His glory and strength on display, 2 Corinthians 12:9 says, "My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness."

In the valley we are given a choice: occupant or visitor. To be honest I have walked through valley seasons fighting between the two. I have been an occupant of some valley seasons and I allowed my roots to grow deep and it was so HARD to get out because I had to allow God to uproot the toxic thinking and unhealthy heart postures I had obtained while putting my roots in that ground. I became unkind, frustrated, offended and my theology of who God was became skewed. However, when I allowed Jesus to fight FOR me I would walk out of the valley victorious, wiser, stronger and more secure in who God was to me personally because He was always in that valley with me.

If you are in a valley season, do not grow roots into this ground because you are just a visitor passing through.

1. What valley are you walking through currently?

2. Have you ever allowed yourself to make a home and plant roots in those valleys? If so, how has it effected you?