Desert Flowers

This month it has been challenging to think of something positive to say, with all the turmoil going on in the world. (Israel,Ukraine, earthquakes, political strife in America) So, I went back to my desert photos to find something peaceful to share with you. Images of the desert represent how I feel, with so many seemingly unsolvable problems all over the world. Dry, barren, devoid of life … but is it really?

This photo reveals the life that was patiently waiting just beneath the surface, ready to spring forth
with new life at the mere mention of rain. This was a year of “super-bloom” and the variety of
flowers was unbelievable. There is other life beneath the surface too. Snakes and rabbits have their holes and tunnels, and birds make homes in carved out saguaro trunks. The desert is a reminder that all might not be as it seems on first glance.

Desert Experiences
This makes me wonder what hidden gift is buried beneath the surface in my life, patiently
waiting to be revealed. Years ago, we were on a personal retreat at the Anza Borrego Visitor
Center when I saw a huge palm tree. Actually it was three trees growing together. Just staring at
that tree(s) I had an epiphany, a visitation. God’s presence was very real to me in that moment. I will forever love the desert after that experience. (I can send you a photo of the trees, but you really had to be there.)
There is a lot written about desert experiences, and the Desert Fathers and Mothers. I am glad I got my
own desert experience. It still speaks to me to this day.

Shadow Lines
The next scene that touched me was of the shadows of an ordinary bush making beautiful lines on a large rock. If you can enlarge this photo and focus on the rock, maybe you will understand my reaction.

Verses for contemplation

Isaiah 35:1 The desert and the parched land will be glad; the wilderness will rejoice and blossom…..
6b Water will gush forth in the wilderness and streams in the desert. The burning sand will
become a pool, and thirsty ground bubbling springs.
Isaiah 43:18. Forget the former things, do not dwell on the past. See, I am doing a new thing! Now it
springs up; do you not perceive it? I am making a way in the desert and streams in the wasteland.
The wild animals honor me, and the jackals and the owls, because I provide water in the desert
and streams in the wasteland, to give drink to my people, my chosen, the people I formed for
myself that they may proclaim my praise.
44:2 -3. This is what the Lord says – he who made you, who formed you in the womb, and who
will help you: Do not be afraid O Jacob, my servant, Jeshurun, whom I have chosen. For I will pour
water on the thirsty land, and streams on the dry ground; I will pour out my spirit on your
offspring, and my blessing in your descendants. They will spring up like grass in a meadow, like
poplar trees by flowing streams……