Within the Fog

By: Chloe Grabeman

Have you ever driven through a dense fog?

You know your destination but are thwarted from making even a simple turn because nothing is clear. You feel the pressure as your ETA moves further and further from what you planned and are left squinting down the road wondering if you’ll ever find your way.

Pardon my language, but fog never seems to half-ass any attempt at making me more directionally challenged than I already am.

It’s typically at night

when I’m alone

on a windy mountain road

in the middle of nowhere.

Oh, and the GPS has conveniently lost signal. Can anyone relate?

I’ve found a lot of moments in life resemble driving through relentless fog desperately looking for direction.

Coming home after four years of college rather than a worldlier praised and expected post-grad position, I’m definitely in a state of wandering through some dense fog.

A few days ago, I was about to lose it and needed a place to escape. And like any Moby Dick lover, “I have a habit of going to sea whenever I begin to grow hazy” – I drove to the beach.

As I walked and prayed about the dozens of things blocking my view, I picked up a broken shell that had washed up on shore. I felt it’s repetitive ridges and rough spots and wondered where the other half may have traveled.

But on my way home as I watched the water inhaled and exhaled across the sand I saw something tumble past the waves reach.

The thought crossed my mind but there was just no way – no way that the other half of a shell that THE OCEAN pulled apart just rolled to my feet.

But it had. A perfect fit. All but a chip missing in the middle.

Seeking clarity can be a lot like finding two halves a broken shell. You have one half of the story, your past and present, all the life circumstances that brought you here.

Then there’s have the unknown half. The part that definitely exists but requires a journey in finding it.

Isaiah 30:15 states,

“In returning and rest you shall be saved;

in quietness and in trust shall be your strength.”

Quietness doesn’t always look like peace from a battle. Rather quietness may very well be the battle itself. But it is through this silence from God, through this battle, your strength is found.

Like piecing together this shell, your clarity may come together at an angle you never imagined, a route you never planned.You may not get all the answers you’re looking for, there may be some cracks and holes never filled.

But there’s no denying that this unpredictable and powerful force what broke this treasure apart, was what brought it back together and only amplifying its beauty with its unique journey.

Just so, God in his infinite and unknown ways can bring the clarity you are so deeply striving for. There’s a journey to come but the clouds will clear.

Playlist:

Since Your Love – United Pursuit

Stay and Wait – Hillsong UNITED

Thy Will – Hillary Scott and the Scott Family

You Won’t Let Go – Cory Asbury

Help Me Believe – Strahan

Seasons – Hillsong Worship

Listen here at the Real and True Playlist on Spotify https://open.spotify.com/user/128815512/playlist/3YfqgeMjEUj7ZB8ydKd5qL

Check out Chloe and Linda Grabeman’s book Real and True: Hope for the Restless Heart at www.realandtruehope.com