Thunder is echoing in the background now. The sky is turning darker with each passing moment. Looks like the promised rain is about to fall on us this afternoon. Welcome to spring in our corner of Texas. Last week we basked in daily sunshine. This week we may need to start building arks. If you don't like the weather here just wait a little bit. Chances are good it will change soon. Let's hope none of the storms are serious enough to cause any damage. We could surely use the rain but not the bad stuff that can come with it.

Last week we also wrote of returning to the blog. My apologies for taking a little longer than expected. Life in its varied forms kept me from composing anything new. It's been hectic but still there were moments free to write. My choice was to take a deep breath rather than write. We will return to doing more writing. There is one lesson to take from the break from the blog. Writing here is therapeutic for me. Even if no one reads my words, it is a good thing to put them down somewhere.

Much of today is being spent still searching for whatever truck ran over me this weekend. The last two days were very slow and foggy for me. No, that is not meant to be whining. It is yet again a mere statement of fact. My theory is there are more of us who go through times like this than we know. Not everyone lives with that vim and vigor we admire. There are moments we just almost muddle through the day. We hope for something better while dealing with the fear that better is not to be found. One result is we recycle the same day over and over. We can avoid doing anything risky since it has no real promise for improvement.

This is human life. Even those of us in the divine relationship with God may be infected with a low grade hum drum existence. No, we do not truly desire to be this way. Probably no one ever wanted to let this happen to us. In fact, we usually are not even aware of it happening until we are well into it. What do we do once we are diagnosed? How do we get better at avoiding the ruts that are so prevalent in our world?

First, be clear that only God Himself is our source of life. We cannot substitute human relationship or achievement for Him. Sometimes we think if we just review the stuff of our life we can find the moment we slipped into the ruts. There is one small problem with that logic. If we are in the midst of the fog how can we see everything clearly? This is why our gaze is to be on God even if we occasionally glance at the situation. Second, go to the Psalms as much as possible. David charts not only his spiritual life but also his emotional world. You will read of him being happy or sad or somewhere in between. You will also notice how he brings God into the midst of whatever emotion he feels. Third, keep a written record of your life. This does not mean you need an extensive diary or blog. Fortunately for us, the Psalms contain the diaries of David. Yours may be just the occasional note to self in your calendar. Having such a record will give you the ability to notice patterns to life. You can record your encounter with God, others, or even your private life for later review. It is a great practice to develop.

None of the above will guarantee you won't have foggy or difficult days. It will keep you open to God. They can allow you to move past the problem to lean on God. You may find that you spend more time in God's sunshine that life's dreariness. Now I'm going to go practice what I blog.

Bro. Trey