Spiritual Desert

When I stopped sending out my spiritual inspirations about 6 months ago many people asked, "Why?". I had quite a few very concerned people questioning if I was o.k., and the answer was "yes". However, I was experiencing what so many other people experience in their spiritual life..."Spiritual Desert". Although I felt I was clinging to God desparately, I couldn't feel him at all except for very brief moments that were very few and far between and writing the inspirations were increasingly difficult. So, I stopped all things that were not of absolute importance and reprioritzed the things in my life.
The change was successful and there were quite a few things I learned in the process about a Spiritual Desert.

Spiritually

1. Everybody has them and it would probably happen to me again at some point in my life.
2. Spiritual deserts can either be caused by God or by myself. If they are from God, it is meant to strengthen my faith. If they are from me, they are because I moved away. It's up to me to figure out which one it is.
3. I can move out of a desert more quickly if I move towards God and take advantage of the sacraments and graces available to me. It also helps if I continue to act in faith despite the desert.
4. When in the streams, I can become more prepared for the next desert by asking now for God's grace and strength when they come. I guess you could relate it to the people in the Old Testament who stored up food when Joseph told them of the seven year famine. In other words: Be prepared ahead of time.

Personally

1. I needed to get rid of all the things that were keeping me from focusing on what was really important. Reprioritize.
2. I needed to do the things that recharged me. In my case quality relationships with family and friends.
3. I needed organization to my day that put the things that I valued most first.
4. And one of the most important...I needed to relax more!

So how is your relationship with God? Are you feeling close to or far away from him? If you are in a desert or feel you are heading there, what needs to change in your life to lead you back to the streams?