The tree that cannot shed its old leaves in the dry season, cannot survive the period of drought. ~Nigerian proverb

We are now in Harmattan season here in Nigeria.  Wikipedia describes this season as “usually a dry and dusty period associated with low humidity. As a result, the weather is harsh to the hair as well as the skin”.

The picture is ants literally sucking all the moisture they can from any source they can find.  They are crawling up the tree trunk to reach the leaves and flowers.  It is very dry here and the dust is very fine.  There will be no moisture until April or so.  It seems like most people here are suffering from  Catarrh, Catarrh is an unpleasant nasal congestion with a build-up of mucus, usually in the nose, throat, or chest.  This is just one of the infections that bother people during this time of year.  Dan’s asthma has decided to act up a bit as well.

Well, last week I sat down to blog and to tell you the truth, I was as dry as a bone.  I had not one good thing that came to my mind.  I was wondering what in the heck am I here for and really am I affecting anyone positively in any way?  I don’t  have anything to say that anyone would want to hear.

My nose itches, my eyes are gritty, my skin is so dry, I have to wear socks at night so I don’t maim Dan!  Worse than the dryness of everything external was the dryness I was feeling in my spirit, down in my deepest part.  I really didn’t even realize that it was soul dryness until I actually laid down yesterday and prayed for a while and took a very long nap.  I really had a weird feeling of anxiousness this past week and couldn’t figure out what my problem was.  I went about doing what I usually do, but just a weird feeling that something was not right.

I get fed a lot through music.  We go to church here in Gembu, and to tell you the truth, frequently we do not get much out of the message and the songs and prayers don’t really fill us as they are not familiar.  As I was praying I remembered that my tablet has not connected with the blue tooth speaker for close to two months now.  I have not had the music that fills me and keeps me focused on Him throughout my day and my soul is missing it.  It took my brain a while to figure it out! Today I will ask Dan to check and see what the problem is so I can get music again that I so enjoy.  The book I am reading right now is great, a wonderful book on leadership, but nothing that touches me spiritually, more on leadership skills and not soul care.

My thought for today is this:  Are you dragging buns throughout your weeks?  Is there something that fills you?  Something that makes you happier, healthier, focused on Him?  Are you doing it?  Do you realize how important it can be to your attitude, to life?