Our Unique Walk

It is always good to hear about the life others are having with God.  If we are struggling with our own, the possibility exists that someone else's story may discourage us, but the greater possibility is that we will be inspired by it.  Our faith journey is not experienced as steady movement upward and forward.  It often is more like a road that has twists and turns, but also plenty of movement from moments of transcendent glory to moments of enduring long dark nights of holy absence.  

What we always need to remember as we are listening to others is that everyone has a different kind of relationship with God.  Even as we relate differently to our children who are different, so should we give God the freedom to relate to each one of us according to the unique personality and spirit that is ours.  It is also important to remember that even in those moments when God seems to be visiting more with our neighbor, or perhaps, not with us at all, there is a reason.  The silence can be every bit as full of purpose as the glorious moments of divine epiphany.  There may be soul work which we need to do in preparation for some trial of tomorrow and silence is the tool of preparation.   

When the day is done it is surely true that God is seeking to bring us into a deeper relationship with Him so that we will be enabled to live faithfully, sacrificially, and abundantly.  If our experience has taken us to the top of the mountain, we should not be surprised that there is a path leading us down.  If we are plodding in our faith, we can also know that there will be a day of running like we were young and flying like eagles.  We can be inspired or discouraged by the experience of others, but never should we measure our own by it.  God takes us all up and down different roads at different times, but it is always according to a plan that is unfolding before us even though we may not see clearly all that is ahead.