Inside: It might look like drought to us, but what if it’s also God’s way of helping us let go? Plus some link love to help celebrate a non-milestone birthday. ~

It’s so dry, even the weeds are dying.

That was my first thought as I dragged the hose around my neglected flower bed a few weeks ago. It’s fall, so we should have been getting rain here in Kansas. At the time, though, the dryness of the last several seasons showed no sign of leaving, discouraging the heart of this low-maintenance gardener to no end.

(I water newly planted perennials, of course, but drought tolerance is high on my list of non-negotiable characteristics when I make additions to my garden areas.)

Thankfully, the rain finally came last week. But even now as I look around—at my formerly thriving hosta patch, at the stunted foliage of my beloved Siberian irises, at a puny cluster of peonies that originated in the rich soil of my childhood home—I can’t help but wonder.

Deep in my heart, where God seems to prepare the soil of my life long before I’m aware of it, is this the start of the letting go?

God’s Good Gifts

We’ve lived here since 2011. It’s been a great house, and an even better home.

I love the kitchen we remodeled a few years ago, the home theater Randy designed in the basement, the numerous garden patches, all the built-in bookshelves.

But now that both daughters are in college, we’re not tied to this location anymore. Randy dreams of a house with a detached shop. I long for a place with a view—maybe where I can see the sunrise out one window and the sunset out of another. (I know such homes exist because my mother-in-law lives in one.)

I’m content where I am, but I’ve been praying for our next place for a long time. Which is why I noticed what children’s author and editor Amanda Cleary Eastep wrote on Instagram recently. “I once asked God for a small patch of woods,” she said. “Sweetly answered.”

Her words remind me that God loves to give His children good gifts, when they align with His good will for their lives. So I will continue to pray, trusting that He will lead us to our next place if and when the time is right.

Link Love

In the meantime, I have a birthday coming up in a few days. To celebrate, I thought I’d share some blog posts that have struck various chords with me lately.

First up, “The Size of Your God is More Important Than the Size of Your Strength” by Michele Morin.

She writes: “When the weight of my own small assignment bears down and I feel the excuses begin to bubble up, I’m learning to let truth inform my feelings.”

I relate to many of Lisa Brittain thoughts in “It’s Why I Write.”

“Loss is normal in this broken world,” she says. “My solace, and my sanity, is that my name is carved upon His hands. I will not be a known writer on earth. It doesn’t matter. I write so He can help me sort and throw out thoughts and feelings that are not of Him.”

Randy and I have been married almost two decades longer than my sweet friend Ashley Rowland, but I appreciated her perspectives in “11 Simple Things I’ve Learned in 11 Years of Marriage.”

“We agree on all kinds of issues, which is wonderful to have in a marriage,” she writes. “But then there all kind of differences, too. Whether it’s our personalities or preferences or opinions, differences are also important. With our differences, we cover more ground.”

Finally, in honor of my birthday, I’ll end with a piece by Tim Challies titled “No Fear of Old Age.”

“Old age is the crescendo, the climax, the denouement,” Challies says. “It is the beautiful and powerful ending to something precious, something wondrous. It is no more to be dreaded than the final chapter of a great story, no more to be feared than the closing film of a trilogy.”

• • •

Let me know if any of those posts resonate with you too. Also, I’m not hitting a milestone age this year. But if you have any words of wisdom for someone who’s about to turn 53, feel free to share them in the comments.

♥ Lois

P.S. I’m linking up this week with Sweet Tea & Friends, Inspire Me Monday, #tellhisstory, InstaEncouragements, Let’s Have Coffee and Grace & Truth.