Photo creds: reference.com

“I will restore to you the years the locust has eaten.” Joel 2:25

It was June. It was an unusually hot summer for Tennessee. And the locusts were on it. They had popped out of holes everywhere and were attacking everything, especially my roses. They were so abundant my two young boys couldn’t play in their yard. Aggressive and destructive, their presence was unnerving.

They whirred and buzzed and munched and crawled into fans, through windows and even into mail slots. We lived with these winged demons for weeks and when they finally died off, green and brown smelly carcasses were left behind in my formerly verdant garden. Destruction.

It was years later, after I had become a follower of Christ that I read that above scripture. The occasion was during a morning devotion when I was experiencing an unexpected life crisis. I was crying and feeling as though my situation was untenable. I was being eaten up and beaten up by the situation.

And for some reason, I remembered the locusts in my Tennessee garden. I thought about the nature of something uninvited coming into your life, interfering, violating your peace and leaving damage behind that you didn’t ask for and couldn’t fix.

But God. He can.

It was an ego-busting process. A terrify family illness. An unexpected move. A job loss.

But God.

He sees the whole of our lives not in compartments but as a grand parade. He has a birds-eye view from the beginning to the middle to the end. He watches as sometimes we go off the planned Parade route… driven by our free will…but His intention for us all is to finish strong. Finish wise and trust him through the journey. If we will yield, we will get back into the route- the best one He has planned in advance for us.

And then we will have hindsight – and see the larger plan all along.

Yup. For me? New job. Better job. Moved back home. Mom’s breast cancer under control. Stronger marriage for it. More humility. Less pride. It’s was all good. Even when it was bad.

Indeed. God did restore the years that those locusts ate. And He continues to do it over and over again.

Amen and amen