Thursday, August 10, 2017

Soaked

Many moons ago, I was in a French class in high school. Growing up in central Florida, I would have been better served to have learned Spanish; but, ever the rebel, I wanted French because I loved the sound of the language.

Plus I had trouble trilling my "R"s which was essential for Spanish.

All these years later certain phrases stand out to me, such as "ferme la bouche," which means "close your mouth," or as teens in my day said, "shut your mouth."

Another favorite is "je suis trempĂ© jusqu'aux os" which I always thought meant "I am soaked to the skin," but the inter webs tell me it can also mean "drenched to the bone."

Whatever.

It's so magical on the tongue. I love to say it; but the question is, when can I use such a phrase in real life? Other than a random rain storm that might catch me unawares, when would I get soaked?

As my readers know, I relate everything to my spiritual journey. Just so happens yesterday, I was studying this passage in Psalm 84:

Blessed is the man whose strength is in You, Whose heart is set on pilgrimage. As they pass through the Valley of Baca, They make it a spring; The rain also covers it with pools.They go from strength to strength; Each one appears before God in Zion.


The Valley of Baca means the valley of weeping. Have you ever had a tear-soaked layover on this journey we call life?

I'm sure we all experience times of weeping.

The question is ... how we react to those times? Do we emerge stronger? or bitter?

The whole emphasis of Psalm 84 is to point out that a person whose heart is to spend time in the presence of His God will be strengthened and have all he/she needs. Self-reliance or trusting in worldly resources will never help during heartbreaking times. Steeping ourselves in His presence, in His Word, and setting our heart on eternity will satisfy our longings. A person who does these things will go from "strength to strength."

Don't hold this earthly life so closely. Remember, we are just aliens journeying Home. This is not the final destination!



My prayer is to be able to say je suis trempĂ© jusqu'aux os with Him!
~~~



This post was written in response to Writer's Workshop prompt #2. Write a blog post inspired by the word: soaked. To read more responses, or to join in, visit Kat at Mama's Losin' It.

I'm also linking up with the communities at #FreshMarketFriday and Grace&Truth.

6 comments:

  1. Soaked in him, drenched to the bone...yes that is a good condition to be in.

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  2. We are just aliens journeying home...

    I like that! I can't say it in French, though.

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  3. I loved this post for many reasons. I never knew you grew up in Central Florida! Where did you go to high school? I'm a Winter Park Wildcat. And took Spanish. Many years but never could get over having to translate in my head before attempting to speak. French is a beautiful language. My daughter took French.

    Rain gives and too much can take life. I've been through my share of storms. So thankful for a Father who never leaves me or forsakes me. xo

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  4. I want to be soaked to the bone IN JESUS!

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  5. Such a good post, Jerralea. While I have wanted to avoid those times of tears, I would not change them for a minute as Jesus only became more dear each time. Blessings!

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  6. I took French in high school in Indiana. The French teacher who'd been there for years decided to leave and I had a college newbie for a teacher. It wasn't what I hoped. I felt the methodology for teaching the language stupid. I would've done better if I'd been taught the french alphabet phonically so I knew how the letters should sound put together (like English) rather then being taught strings of words and phrases I was expected to simply memorize or playing bingo with french words for various colors. That was my last foreign language class.

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