Life in a Fog
There are times we all struggle with seeing the ending of some portion of our life. It’s like living in a deep valley and the sun seldom hits the bottom slopes, and the mist rises (it’s called Valley Fog) and obscures the peaks. I know… During certain times of the year, the cold air hangs over my prairie and the warm ground and local rivers produce a fog that obscures the Bald Hills out my backyard. We cannot even see Mt Rainier to the East. Forget about seeing the sun, moon, stars or streetlights!
When this happens, you feel lost. Alone. Even abandoned. Wake up in the morning, push ahead to the night, never knowing if you are making headway. Landmarks. Goals. Measurements. All visible, but no ending in sight.
Recently. Driving home late one night from Portland I experienced this same fog that began on the freeway and led me the 25 miles to home. You lose all sense of location. Every so often a familiar landmark sticks out, but for the most part, it’s difficult to know where you are, and when you are, how far you’ve come, and how far you have left on your journey.
Fog is a dreadful thing to be caught in, feeling lost, especially when your energy is drained and it's late at night. Click To TweetSome time back I was dealing with a sinus infection have given me a perspective of a “drug” fog. Fighting the infection with OTC and prescribed drugs, I find myself standing in a room wondering why I showed up. Did I come to get something? Or was I leaving to go do something? Or was I simply passing through?!!?
Maybe you know the feeling? You have something important to do and your mind cannot seem to find the way to completing the task. It’s like looking through the fog.
When you finally start to make headway against the foggy feeling, it’s almost like a burst of hope on a mountaintop you did not expect! Look! There’s a way out!
I’ve been reading through the bible again, with a plan to finish the entire work of 66 books in chronological order. It’s an interesting way to look at the history of God working with a stubborn creation. You see the peaks and the valleys. You see the clarity of action and direction, but you also see the foggy condition of the spiritualness of mankind’s optics. Somehow it seems there are always valleys surrounded by peaks of success. More valley than peaks.
Sometimes we just have to keep plodding forward, even when we do not understand our next step. Is that not the definition of faith? Through it all, we hold on to the words of hope for a more solid future.
Let me give you a few scriptures to think through.
For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, says the LORD, thoughts of peace and not of evil, to give you a future and a hope. (Jeremiah 29:11 NKJV)
For the ways of man are before the eyes of the LORD, And He ponders all his paths. (Proverbs 5:21 NKJV)
Trust in the LORD with all your heart, And lean not on your own understanding; In all your ways acknowledge Him, And He shall direct your paths. (Proverbs 3:5-6 NKJV)
Your word is a lamp to my feet And a light to my path. (Psalms 119:105 NKJV)
My foggy brain keeps dancing around a scripture that I cannot bring into focus. It’s there. I know it’s there, and what it is, but it’s not coming into focus! So. Let me give you one more scripture of hope for whatever fog you are living in right now.
The steps of a good man are ordered by the LORD, And He delights in his way. Though he fall, he shall not be utterly cast down; For the LORD upholds him with His hand. (Psalms 37:23-24 NKJV)
Sometimes clarity comes only after walking your faithful path. Keep moving forward. Take your time. Know your steps are ordered. Even when it's foggy. Click To TweetPraying for you!