Seasons with My Savior: A Devotional Journal

By Amy Jo Wrobel

Do you ever feel like you are fighting the battle of life all alone? Are trials in your life weighing you down, keeping you chained like a prisoner in your own thoughts? Have you ever considered other Christ followers might be experiencing the same depth of grief, loss or pain? Are you ready to step out of the dark of night into the light of a new day? Is it time to move from the coldness of the winter into the warmth of the summer sun? Join Amy Jo Wrobel as she examines challenging seasons in her own life that compelled her in desperation to seek solace and hope from the Scriptures. Take encouragement from the psalmist, the Apostle Paul and even our Lord, Jesus Christ. Know that this Christian journey is not meant to be a solitary one. No matter what season you are experiencing, you will find a fellow sojourner’s encouragement and hope to bring comfort to your hurting heart.

• Language: English
• Publisher: WestBow Press
• Release date: Oct 16, 2019
• ISBN: 9781973676058

Amy Jo Wrobel

Mark lives in Des Moines with his wife, Carol. 2022 was the celebration of their 40th wedding anniversary. They enjoy spending time with their two sons, two daughters-in-law, and five grandchildren. Mark has spent over 35 years serving in church ministry and his current passion is to finish well in being a faithful follower of his Lord, Jesus Christ. Amy Jo Wrobel lives in Ankeny, IA, with her husband, David, of 31 years. They are the parents of two married daughters. Amy Jo has been in women’s ministry for 30 years, serving as a Bible study leader and teacher. She is the author of 2 other books and is a women’s speaker.

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Copyright © 2019 Amy Jo Wrobel.

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced by any means, graphic, electronic, or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, taping or by any information storage retrieval system without the written permission of the author except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews.

This book is a work of non-fiction. Unless otherwise noted, the author and the publisher make no explicit guarantees as to the accuracy of the information contained in this book and in some cases, names of people and places have been altered to protect their privacy.

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Because of the dynamic nature of the Internet, any web addresses or links contained in this book may have changed since publication and may no longer be valid. The views expressed in this work are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of the publisher, and the publisher hereby disclaims any responsibility for them.

Any people depicted in stock imagery provided by Getty Images are models, and such images are being used for illustrative purposes only.

Certain stock imagery © Getty Images.

Interior Image Credit: Lillie Wrobel

Scripture quotations are from the ESV® Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®), copyright © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

ISBN: 978-1-9736-7606-5 (sc)

ISBN: 978-1-9736-7607-2 (hc)

ISBN: 978-1-9736-7605-8 (e)

Library of Congress Control Number: 2019915164

WestBow Press rev. date: 10/02/2019

Dedicated

to my husband, Dave…

Thank you for journeying the seasons of life with me

Contents

Brokenness

The Lamb

His Work

Hope for a Downcast Soul

Red Sparkly Shoes

Betwixt Two Odds

My Home Matters

Life’s Paths

Fear

Rejoice

Joy

Snow

It’s Been a Week…

If It Had Not Been…

Home Inspection

Trials

Beauty for Ashes

Just Dance

A Season

Time to Communicate

Cry Out to God

A Flowering Garden

Love May Abound

The Cool Wall

Cross Country Meet

The Largest Troublemaker

The Nest

Diligent

Cheerful Face

Why Worry?

Simply Peace

Mercies

Oh! My ‘Achan’ Back

Abide

Unique

My Unbelief

Martha, Martha

Belly Laughs

I Can’t Contain Myself

Sufficient Grace

Brokenness

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I Kings 19:5-8 And he lay down and slept under a broom tree. And behold, an angel touched him and said to him, Arise and eat. And he looked and behold there was at his head a cake baked on hot stones and a jar of water. And he ate and drank and lay down again. And the angel of the LORD came again a second time and touched him and said, Arise and eat, for the journey is too great for you. And he arose and ate and drank, and went in the strength of that food forty days and forty nights…

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Broken car

Broken relationships

Broken shoes

Broken tv

Broken budget

Broken car mirror

Broken lawn mover

Broken light fixture

Broken lamp

Broken air conditioner

Broken innocence

Broken health

Broken heart

I feel there is so much brokenness in my life right now. I see it in the lives of people at church, in the world around me, in my own family. God brought to my heart the story of Elijah. Through these verses, God meets Elijah in his brokenness. His rejection and fear. His dispirited condition, desiring release from this life. God met his point of need and proved to Elijah that although circumstances may be broken, life was broken, his heart was broken, God could be trusted to fix things. In God’s way and time. God allows the broken things in life to point us to the ultimate Fixer-Upper.

I love how God took care of Elijah’s physical needs before anything else. Often, a good meal and good night’s sleep are necessary to face the brokenness. God knew this and provided nourishment for Elijah. At the end of this personal season of 40 days, Elijah’s physical needs were managed and allowed him to continue in the strength of those provisions.

The day that had begun for me with overwhelming brokenness, ended with a soul fed at the feet of Jesus with Bread from the Word and Water from the Well. God took captive my wayward thoughts and shifted my focus, like Elijah, off my circumstances, on Him. When life seems to be beyond the repairs of our own strength, look to the One who CAN fix it all…

Selah ~ Meditate on These Things

What is broken in your life right now?

Are you running away from God or to God? How is He meeting your needs?

The Lamb

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Isaiah 40:11 He shall feed His flock like a shepherd; He shall gather the lambs with His arm and carry them in His bosom and shall gently lead those that are with young.

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O ne day during my mom’s battle with cancer, she called to tell me she needed to be taken by ambulance to the hospital. This disease, radiation and many chemo treatments had left her severely dehydrated, nauseous, and in a weakened state. She needed help. I called the ambulance and then rushed to my mom’s home. I met the ambulance crew at the front door. It was a long and difficult day