The Desert in the Colorado Rockies

Photo Credit: Wellington Street Pentecostal Church

Deserts and mountains are different climates and different land formations. They really don't have much of anything in common. One is rocky, sometimes green with lots of trees, wildlife and water runoff from the glorious snow on the peaks. It has temperatures ranging from well below freezing (and apparently blizzards in May) to really warm. The other is sand. Lots and lots of sand. Hot and dry with extremely limited vegetation and life, because life of all kinds usually requires water to be healthy and sustained. So how could a desert be found 'in' the mountains? When the desert is figurative, referring to a season of life and the mountains are literal. 

Photo Credit: Outward Bound

A Recap

My husband, Brandon, was a lead pastor in Lubbock, Texas. That's what he was doing when we met, dated, got engaged and married. That's what he kept doing up until November 2013. In January, we knew God was beginning to move our hearts and beginning to prepare us to leave Lubbock. We began to pray for direction, guidance and courage to be obedient. Long story short, we prepared to put our house on the market, and it sold for cash before it was officially listed. It was decided for us, by this, that we would be moving sooner than we planned. Due to the lack of job offers flooding in, we went to a safe haven where there was an opportunity. An opportunity to rest, pray and wait for God to show us what was next. My gracious brother and sister-in-law invited us to come to Colorado Springs and live with them as long as we needed. They have a full basement, complete with a kitchen, bathroom, bedroom and living area. They offered it to us, and we gratefully accepted and have been living here since the week of Thanksgiving. To share with you the lessons we have learned from this experience of living in the basement with our family of four and most of our stuff in storage will take a whole separate blog and maybe even a book. I'm contemplating writing it someday: Lessons from the Basement or The Family Under the Stairs. Haha. Who knows?

An Update
I say all of that to tell you this: We have been in a desert season in Colorado for almost 6 months now.  That statement has such a negative connotation, but it isn't meant to elicit pity or sorrow. While we have been surrounded by the beauty of this place, we have definitely experienced just as many, if not more, figurative mountaintops as valleys.

It has been a desert season because there hasn't been clarity, direction or certainty about anything. There hasn't been career opportunities or affirmation in a job search. Many times there hasn't been confidence in our decision to come here. There has been doubt and instability. There have been challenges with our two young children...normal challenges...that seem insurmountable some days. There has been A LOT of togetherness for our family. We are together, for the most part, all day every day. This could be listed under both the mountaintop and valley, the fresh springs of life and the desert. It just depends not the day...or the hour.

On the other hand, there has been endless provision for opportunity. It hasn't been where we have looked all the time. While we were focused on opportunities for jobs, God has been preparing us for what He has for us next. While we were focused on giving stability to our family (and let's face it, our consciences), God has been providing an opportunity for us to truly build an unshakable foundation of faith, trust and courage...not just within our marriage, not just within our family of four, not even just within the seven of us who live under the same roof, but with the extended family with whom our relationships have been enriched by this move. With our friends, old and new, who we miss and by whom we have been incredibly blessed to get to know.

My husband has referred to this time as a 'forced sabbatical' that neither of us really wanted or asked for but that God knew we needed. He still knows more than we do about what's next and the ways He needs to shape us and prepare us for what is in store. All I know is that if it takes this long to get us ready, it's going to be good.

We have taken up running, which has been awesome! (Refer to previous Running Chronicles blog posts for that journey.) We are still running, for those of you who are wondering. We read more, write more, communicate better. We have been given the amazing gift of time to be together, grow together and simply focus on diving into our passions, God's Word, our relationships with Him and with each other. Rarely does anyone get this chance. So, while there are days that I just want to be done with this season, with the basement and with growth that is painful and requires patience I don't believe I have, I have an even bigger potential dilemma. A dilemma that not only keeps me going, but it causes me to dig in and strive to push myself to really make the most of this time, even on the tough days. It's the looming possibility that I will look back at this time and have regret. I don't want to look back and see missed opportunities because of my impatience to move on to the next thing. I never want to get where we are headed and reflect only to see that I wasted any part of this time...or even question if I might have spent it better.

So, six months later, we are still praying and seeking God to show us what's next. The only thing that has changed is our perspective. God has transformed our thinking about the whole situation, about our lives, into something that truly enables us to see the bigger picture. There are some promising opportunities now, and we still don't know where they will lead. We can wake up to each new day, though, with confidence that wherever we go, God is with us and His purpose is ultimate. It is for our good and His glory. That's all we need to know.

Photo Credit: Eric Valentine's Praise Photography Blog

The above lyrics are from a great hymn from John Newton that I recently discovered. Click here to see the rest of the lyrics.


Brandon is leaving Friday to go to New Day Orphanage in Zambia with a group from Fellowship Church Lubbock. Please pray for them. The boys and I will spend that time in Texas with family.