and then You show up.

Let us acknowledge the LORD;

   let us press on to acknowledge him.

As surely as the sun rises,

   he will appear;

he will come to us like the winter rains,

   like the spring rains that water the earth.

- Hosea 6:3

At the beginning of the summer Kianna, Meaghan, and I sat atop the hill, staring out at the lake (which, by the way, is much more beautiful from a distance) and talked. We were supposed to be at campfire, but we skipped it, knowing that we "had chosen what was better" (Luke 10:42).  The mosquitoes were absolutely awful that night, but we braved them anyways, for we simply had no other choice.
We were just sharing things from our lives with one another- things which I do not wish to discuss at the present time- and I became overwhelmingly aware of the need for God to simply reveal Himself. 


I feel as though so much of my life (certainly so much of my faith) has been spent living in what seems like nothing but time in-between the moments when God shows up... as if I'm always hanging on to that last time I saw a glimpse of His glory and hoping with all I have for just one more sight.


As the girls shared what was on their heart, I was painfully aware of the fact that nothing I could do or say could encourage them in the way that they required. God simply needed to do something- something that could be attributed to none but Him- in order to reaffirm our faith and propel us onward.


As we conversed and tried to encourage one another, Kianna abruptly got up (a gesture of obedience to the gentle whisper (1 Kings 19:12), as I later learned). She ran to the beach and disappeared from our sight, while we continued discussing the issues at hand and declaring to one another the ever-important truths about our Sovereign God.


Then, at just the right time, Kianna re-emerged, holding a brand new bottle of bug spray. She tossed it one the ground with confident joy and shared with us her story:


She had run toward the water, following the gentle whisper of our God: "come away" (SofS 2:10).  She prayed through many of her fears and experienced a fresh new sense of freedom as she conquered them with Him. The mosquitoes were (obviously) worse down by the water, and while she longed to remain there in His presence, she could hardly bear being attacked by the irritating little creatures. She prayed "please God protect me from these awful mosquitos....I just need this right now".  She stood there for a few more seconds, waiting for Him to intervene. Eventually she gave up waiting and began her slow walk back to the fire. As she turned and stepped, she stumbled over something on the ground: Mosquito Spray.

As surely as the sun rises, He will appear. He will come to us like the winter rains.

When we heard her story we rejoiced with tears. What a beautiful God we worship- that He would so faithfully show up at just the right time. Just when, in desperation and dejection, we are unable to know His goodness on our own, HE APPEARS declaring: I will not leave you or forsake you, do not fear or be dismayed (Deut 31:8).