Sangria and Friends
Hello all!
     It's a Sunday afternoon and my son is swimming in the pool. Living in an apartment has its ups and downs. I have great neighbors but sometimes I want space. Everyday I long for trees and green. I live in Southern California so it's drought, desert and lot's of brown. I feel like I'm withering away. Anytime there are clouds or rain my spirits lift and I am ready to take on the day. The sun just makes me hot and grumpy. My husband's job is really centered here. He is a fireman with the speciality skill of being a Dozer operator.  I cannot think of a more suitable job for him. I am so proud of all the things he does at work. He stepped into a position in 2008 that had been vacant for quite sometime. The dust had collected and no one really knew what was going on with the dozer. He has put it together from the ground up with barely any training. Seven years later he has created a module at work where the guys enjoy working with him and don't really want to leave when fire season is over. My husband is a deeply compassionate no nonsense type of guy. He looks at work as something to take pride in, not to just show up and collect a paycheck. The kids and I just swell with pride when we see him. He is our protector, provider and he deeply loves his family. He's one of the good one's and I'm so grateful that God brought us together and that he is the father of our kids.

     
     Wow, I hadn't planned to talk about that yet but that's apparently where I needed to go. So back to Sangria and friends. In my first blog I talked about how life can be very lonely. Not only do I live in a desert but my life has felt like a desert. Sometimes it feels like it will never end. My husband has applied for jobs elsewhere in his field of work but God keeps closing the doors. It's hard not to feel like God doesn't play favorites when you see others getting out of here or moving on with life. The last no that my husband received about a job possibility just made me a little angry. I want something and God is saying no. So He and I have had a heart battle over the last week. I can say now that the anger is gone and I am going to trust that He knows what He's doing. God brought me to this place after two evenings spent in the company of some wonderful friends.
     I had texted my girlfriend to see what she and her husband were up to last Friday night. She said they were going to their home group and we were welcome to come. A couple years ago we went through some painful church stuff and the wounds went deep. In life sometimes you just need rest on the couch. Then the day comes to get off the couch and engage with people and try again. The older we get there is a tendency to think how it is, is how it will always be. You stop trying and miss out on life. I want to be bold and walk towards God with all things. Even when He says no to me I want to trust His love and know that I can rest and talk with Him under the shadow of His wings. 
     So I leaped into trying this home group. I had no idea who was there or what it would be like. I have to say that walking into a room of people I don't know is petrifying to me. Usually I want to find the nearest corner and be invisible. Well that's not going to happen when your out with my friends Walt and Trina. They are these loving outgoing people with hearts of pure love. They drew my husband and I in and introduced us all around the group. What a delightful group of eclectic people. The group is for 20 to 35 year olds but they also want people who are older to bring encouragement as well. The older reaching to the younger. I really was touched by this group of people. I have never encountered a home group like this. Full of love and prayer. This isn't a group of perfect people with perfect lives and plastic smiles. Everyone has stuff and we are all just trying to move closer to God and know who we are in Christ. My soul was refilled and I can't stop thinking about them. 
     I also went to a new church because it has a Saturday evening service. My husband works Sundays and has been unable to go to church for far too long. Family life is about adjusting and finding what works for the whole good of the unit. I was once again filled up by the wonderful music and the company of Walt and Trina. Our husbands have never had the same days off so this is a special treat to be in church together and possibly a home group. Folks, life is full of valleys with some peaks thrown in there. Has my life completely changed and everything perfect? By no means. I'm still in the desert. Arrrg. I am relearning how to rest in the person of who Jesus is. I'm learning about God's love for me and how to trust that again. How to come off the couch and out of the desert into life even when I'm still living in the desert. Our first instinct isn't to run to God when He tells us no or doesn't do what we think we want. But that is exactly where we need to run to and just talk to Him. Lay it all out and don't quit. You never know what's around the corner.
     I leave you with walk in boldness and walk towards God.
Blessings
Gadiela