Skip to main content

Desert Living




I don’t know that I’ve ever seen the desert look more beautiful. Is it just me or is it blooming more than usual? We have had more rain this winter than I ever remember Phoenix having outside of monsoon season. So, maybe it is blooming more than the norm. 

When we first moved to Phoenix back in 1999 I remember thinking it looked so brown, dry and lonely. Maybe that was because of my attitude back then. I did not want to be here. It truly was a dry and lonely place at the time and I couldn’t see the beauty in the desert at all. 

When I looked up “desert” in my dictionary app I got: “any area in which few forms of life can exist because of lack of water, permanent frost, or absence of soil.”  Also, “any place lacking in something.” The desert doesn’t have to necessarily be a physical place or even one that is mostly dry, brown and sandy. 





←This picture was taking three years ago from our front porch. 
I remember this day well. I was in a desert. We were living in beautiful New England. It was Spring. When new forms of life were suppose to be popping up from the ground in full color. This storm came in and brought more frost with it. I was in an emotional and spiritual desert due to unforeseen circumstances that were out of my control. Yet, I saw this storm as a gift from God. There was such a peace that day that could only come from Him. It was as if He was telling me that everything was going to be ok. “Yes, this is hard and hurtful and scary but there is great purpose in it.” I couldn’t see it at the time but I trusted then and still do that God is good and He is in control. Nothing is too hard for Him. 


Because of that desert in those unforeseen circumstances we ended up in Houston. I cannot imagine my life without the friendships and memories made in Houston. I cannot imagine my life without having gone through that desert in NE. I saw God’s hand all over it! I am forever grateful for the desert and can now see the beauty for what it was. 


When we moved back to Phoenix six months ago (Yes, God’s hand is all over that too!) I couldn’t help but notice the beauty in the desert. Even though it couldn’t hold a candle to the lush green forests of Houston. But, I actually now have a new love for cacti. I love the smell of the desert in the morning and early evenings. The sunrises and sunsets are my very favorite. I am enjoying every minute of the dry, desert life. I’m choosing to look for beauty in the desert these days. There are still some days when I “feel” lacking in something. That emotional desert if you will. But then I remember that God has purpose in that too.  It is to grow me and to teach me to put my hope in Him. To remind me to depend on Him alone!

So I hold on to Him and His truth. He is the living water and that water still flows through any desert we might have to walk through. 

Pressing On 



“I am the Lord, the God of all mankind. Is anything too hard for me?”
Jeremiah 32:27 NIV



“Whoever believes in me, as Scripture has said, rivers of living water will flow from within them.””
John 7:38 NIV








































Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

The Season of Spring

  The mornings are so beautiful right now that I want to soak them in before the scorching heat is in its full glory. The sun comes up shortly after I do this time of year. My favorite thing to do is grab my bible, journal and a cup of coffee and sit out back with Annie while the sun rises. The birds are literally singing, the quail make more of a squawk like sound than a song but I love it.   Occasionally, I will hear an owl on a neighboring rooftop or the party of a pack of coyotes in the distance celebrating their recent conquest. I’m always surprised that these sounds don’t faze Annie one bit. Make no mistake, if the trash truck or other large vehicle drives past our dividing wall she goes absolutely K-9, as if she’s military, saving us from being attacked. Bless her heart.   Spring typically comes early in Phoenix and is somewhat short lived. I often think we go from Winter to Summer with seemingly little time to wear any of the light weight sweaters I have hangi...
2 comments
Read more

Minding My Own Tail

Have you ever heard of Happy Tail? Me either. At least not until our semi sweet chocolate lab came home from boarding with Happy Tail. They explained to me, it’s because Annie is so excited when anyone walks by her kennel; she wags her tail so fiercely that it beats up against the crate. This caused her to rub the fur off of a spot on the tip of her tail. Eventually, the skin broke open and it bled...... therefore she had been diagnosed with Happy Tail.  It cleared up until she had to spend a little more time in her kennel recently. At first I didn’t even notice. Only wondering where all the blood on my walls was coming from. Once I realized it was that Happy Tail again, I wrapped it with gauze and some first aid tape. That lasted only until the doorbell rang and a guest arrived. Several rapid wags and the wrap went flying like a severed finger and the bleeding was all over the walls along with our guest’s pants. So embarrassing! But also poor Annie. It had to hurt. I knew it ...
Post a Comment
Read more

Don’t Blink

It’s still dark out and I’ve only had half a cup of coffee but I’m wide awake. The big house is quite, with the exception of the humming appliances and the cooing of  the sweetest baby in the world.  I’m sitting here holding my grandson. My grandson! He is as perfect as they come. Pink, thick and squishy. He makes the cutest noises as he sleeps in my arms. And smells so good. What is it about baby skin and peach fuzz? Mom and Dad are resting from what I’m assuming was a rough night. Oh the circle of life. I do remember those days of sleepless nights. I wish I had someone tell me then not to blink. Because 30 years will fly by. This little one will be in school, blink- driving, blink-graduating college, blink- getting married, blink- having his own child.   You know what? Knowing what I know now, I would still blink. Because this next stage in life is pretty amazing too. Every stage in life is a gift. It’s meant to be lived out abundantly and enjoyed to the full!...
Post a Comment
Read more