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Friday, August 15, 2014

Water in the Desert


I noticed recently that my introductory post to my "Year of Renewal" Project has had substantially more page views than many of my other posts, even though it is not especially informative or detailed.  So, some of you out there are definitely interested in the topic, it seems.

In July, I visited the Labyrinth of the Dancing Christ and often find myself wanting to return.  Unfortunately, it's 1,000 miles away and I can't just go back.  It's easy to stay in that mindset though, of wanting to go back to a certain place in time when we believe everything was better (regardless of whether or not it was).  The Israelites faced that when they were wandering in the desert.  In Numbers 14: 3-4, they are questioning following where God is leading them and wonder if it would be better to return to Egypt, where they were slaves.  What they had known was better than following God into the unknown.  

When I walked the labyrinth, I almost didn't want to step in because I didn't know what lay ahead for me; I wanted to stay where I was comfortable, with what I knew. And now, I find myself wanting to go back to the labyrinth because of the experience there.  It's hard to want to look ahead when we can't see very far.

In the labyrinth, I couldn't see how to get to the center; I just had to take one step after another and I found myself enjoying the journey and not looking behind me.  That is what I need to remember on those days when I just want to go back there.  That experience of the labyrinth is in the past, and, while I hope there will be another one, I need to focus on the steps I am currently taking.  

I think, though, what we need to remember about specific experiences that we yearn to go back to is not to keep wanting to go back to them, but finding ways to be strengthened from the past and be able to look ahead to the future with hope.  During this project, one song continuously comes to mind: "Desert Song" by Hillsong.  

The first verse says:

This is my prayer in the desert
When all that's within me feels dry
This is my prayer in my hunger and need
My God is the God who provides

In those lines, there is a spark of hope, no matter how small it is.  

And so as I continue reading the various portions of scripture each week that come from both the Jewish cycle of reading and the Christian lectionary, I look for even the tiniest parts that bring hope when the scripture is difficult and complicated.

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