valued advice

I like to listen to what people have to say and I've been given a lot of advice from a lot of different people over the years. However, when my grandparents talk I really pay attention. Growing up in a Christian family I've taken note of how people I respect handle certain things. I'm generally a pretty optimistic person but about two years ago I was a little down so I went to Kentucky to visit my grandparents. My grandma lives in the cutest little white cottage behind a big white house that my aunt and uncle live in. So naturally when I found myself feeling down about life, I packed my suitcase and went to visit that little lady in the white cottage! I needed to spend some time sitting at her kitchen table hearing anything she had to tell me. We spent our mornings talking about the Bible and our family. My grandma shared her testimony with me and then she said, "Nicole, there's a passage in Mark (6:30-34) where the disciples are overwhelmed and Jesus tells them, 'Come with me by yourselves to a quiet place and get some rest.' I believe the Lord wants this to be a quiet season in your life so he can grow you." In the two years since that conversation with my grandma, the Lord has taught me so much about total dependence on Him alone...not Him plus something else. Many times, things in life get so loud and so busy that it's hard to hear the voice of God. When I find myself getting lost in my everyday life, I remember how peaceful it is to get away from everyone and just seek the Lord. The fellowship of believers is awesome and I love it but nothing can replace those times where it's just you and God. I love that Jesus specifically tells the disciples to come away by themselves. God desires to reveal himself to us in personal ways during those intimate times alone with Him. To me, that side of God is the best. The God that said "Let there be light" and it came to be cares to hear the complexity of my fears and desires? That's true for all of us. Sometimes we go through times of quiet seeking and then we realize that it was really a time of rest. The Lord gives us these seasons in our lives to show us different sides of himself so in tough times we can remember that we've tasted the Lord's goodness.