hope in the wild.

life goes from sunset lit evenings to dark, thunder and lightning moments in the blink of an eye.
it’s easy sailing, and then you suddenly feel lost in the waves.
tossed.
wildly looking for direction.
for hope.

And at the ends of what is broken,
you will find endless grace
to remind you there is peace
in this wild and unknown place.

-- Morgan Harper Nichols

there is peace through the storm. hope in the wild.

when I encounter storms in life, i am reminded what it means to relinquish control. in other words, to give up the control I try to have over my life and instead, give it to Jesus.

i love being in control. it’s like a safety mechanism. the more crazy life gets, the more i want to know what’s going on, where i am going, why i am where i am and so on.
i try to grab hold of more areas of my life that i wrestled over in the past. things i had to lay down to Jesus, intentionally give to Him and then let go of.

control. i don’t know why it feels secure to be “in control”.
it’s not what Jesus calls me to live out. it’s the opposite of laying down my life to find it in Him. it’s hindering, a holding back from freedoms joy.

for so many years i have fought with myself. do i want Jesus to truly be Lord of e v e r y aspect of my life, or just “comfortable” ones?
i always come to a conclusion of wanting to say yes and feeling lacking in courage to stand up to my own stubborn selfish pride and say it out loud to myself, my heart, my mind.

i am realizing more and more that the more i leave it for another time, when i have '“less” to do and “more” time to spend on processing this, then, that i will say the overarching yes that encompasses my life in one word.

yes. i say it over and over daily, in little moments, even in bigger moments. but the biggest y e s , second to making a big space in mylife for Him to be King and God, is still in the process, is still to be said loud, instead of a whisper.

through the storms, the waves that seem to toss me, i want to let the undeniable love of Jesus be the reason I cling to hope.

the fact that hope even exists is the reason we keep learning to trust Him. we find hope in that we will meet Him face to face. we find hope in that the hard seasons will end. we find hope in eternal life and fellowship with the Lord of all. we find hope in that we can be satisfied completely by Him. we find hope in that we are truly loved, seen, heard and valued. we are trusted and precious to the heart of our Creator.

don’t loose sight of hope in the wild of life. wilderness is a season and a time to grow with His living water nourishing you. rely on Him. He is the compass, the roadmap and the ultimate source of wisdom.

be hopeful, even in the dark and uncertain places of the wild.

be brave in the wild. walk with boldness and confidence as a warrior walks in battle, fearless because we have already won.

hope.

hope in the wild.

{written on July 13th, 2019}

Photographs by Christy Gerlach