Locusts

Many sounds tell us summer has arrived. In the evenings, when life has slowed down, we can hear the croaking of frogs, buzzing of bees, birds chirping and the low hum of locusts.

I have been stuck on the verses from Joel 2:25-26 lately.

 I will restore to you the years

that the swarming locust has eaten,

the hopper, the destroyer, and the cutter,

my great army, which I sent among you.

“You shall eat in plenty and be satisfied,

and praise the name of the Lord your God,

who has dealt wondrously with you.

And my people shall never again be put to shame.

It is God's promise that He will restore what has been taken and destroyed.

This verse was first shared with and explained to me sitting in my psychologist's office. He and my counselor wanted me to understand early on that God, and only God, can and will restore what was taken and destroyed. A difficult concept for me to wrap my head around six years ago.

Through those years, it has been a verse I have gone to and been reminded of often. Up until recently, I am not certain I fully believed or understood the depth of this promise.

Have you ever considered the damage locusts can do?

A handful of them to even a few hundred really do nothing we notice. However, we are fortunate. They don't really swarm our areas like they do in some middle eastern countries.

Egypt has a huge problem with them. Despite spraying pesticides, they have a problem every few years with the locusts swarming their country.

They come in and wreak havoc on crops. One swarm of locusts can eat as many as 2,500 people in a single day. Once they consume most of the vegetation, they migrate to the next fertile area. They will repeat until there is nothing left for them and then, they will go dormant.

While they aren't directly harmful to humans, their devastation is. With their main food sources wiped out, prices sky rocket. The farmers gain nothing for their hard work and investment. The economy in all surrounding areas suffer and families struggle.

The next year, everyone starts over and life begins again. The crops flourish and the economy begins to recover.

God restores what has been taken and destroyed.

The verse doesn't just apply to locust or the people of Egypt, Australia or Mali.

I also don't necessarily think that complete restoration always happens on this side of heaven.

The reason this verse was so important for my psychologist and counselor to convey is because they needed me to hold onto God's promise.

I may have been a fairly privileged, married adult, but I was/am a broken young lady whose had a lot taken from her. Deep inside me, resides the little girl who was abused and neglected. The little girl had her life destroyed. She had everything valuable taken from her physically and emotionally.

It was as important for me to embrace that hurt little girl as it was for me to understand restoration was a part of healing.

These days, I have a much better understanding. I'm not saying life is perfect. I'm not saying that there isn't any hurting left in me. But, I can see a trend of God's restoration in my life.

He has begun to restore my heart, my ability to trust and love. He has replaced times of great fear with times of great joy. He has allowed me a marriage that has fulfilled me in ways I missed early on in life, especially a bond with someone who loves me. He has moved me far away from the hurt and pain.

There are so many ways that He has brought restoration to my life. I won't say it is complete. I think there is a lot left. It's a process and one that cannot be rushed.

I sit here incredibly thankful for God's promises and all He has done in my life. I could never attribute it to anyone or anything besides God.