“I have called you friends, for everything that I learned from my Father I have made known to you.”
John 15:15 (NIV)
There is a type of isolation that is caused by circumstances beyond our control. A single life shattering event can change our life and separate us from everything we once knew as normal. It’s times like these that we need the personal friendship of Jesus more than ever. This isolation could be the result of the loss of a loved one, a severed relationship, a diagnosis of a serious illness or becoming a caregiver for a disabled loved one. It’s a challenging and painful time in our faith journey and it’s known as the wilderness. In the wilderness, we are separated for a reason and are being pruned for a purpose that we don’t yet understand.
I entered a wilderness in 2018, when my late husband first received his terminal diagnosis of ALS, followed by his death in 2019. God helped me to meet the practical needs of being his primary caregiver, but I left my spiritual life far behind during that trying period. The following year Covid restrictions further separated me from all that was familiar. Besides being spiritually depleted, I was also isolated from all family and friends. God never left me while I was in that wilderness, He was there all along, but I left Him, by neglecting my prayer life.
The Holy Spirit patiently pursued me, inviting me back into His friendship. It’s hard to explain, but there is something sacred about the wilderness. As I started praying and reading scripture, I found a deeper intimacy with Jesus. Scripture inspired me to write what I learned each morning and I discovered a new passion for writing. I began to share these meditations with two friends everyday and they forwarded them to their friends and the number of people receiving these meditations grew to over four dozen today.
I found a hidden treasure in writing, and haven’t stopped since, but the greatest treasure is the friendship Jesus offered me during the hardest time of my life.
God desires our friendship as He leads us through this temporary wilderness, and there are many hidden treasures to discover along the way. Despite how it feels in the moment, there is an inner strength that comes from His friendship. He eventually leads us out of the wilderness and into our promised land, because the best is always yet to come.
Lord, keep us in close friendship with you during our journey through the wilderness, and we trust that many hidden treasures will be revealed along the way. Grant to each reader, your peace which surpasses all understanding. Amen