Wow was all we could say! ! the Desert seems to 'reward' and each new trail brings 'new' lessons.. this cacti' is by all appearances 'dead' at it's center and yet it's receiving nourishment ... enough to grow new arms and bloom? ..'we can take this so many way's 'the deadness of our aging bodies' in waiting for the new and glorious one _ 'the fact of our sin nature dead positionally and yet always dying practically' to live to the new ... ... evidently still rooted and growing, ... after viewing up close the 'strength of the fiber inside, I no longer fear 'they may topple ' although as we learned in this week's wind/rain storm .. to much of a good thing' and in this case I believe it was the 'waterlogged plant that' de-stabilizes the cactus.. .. it got me thinking how 'the Living Water' has a flow to it' for one to have optimal spiritual health' ... but also that the Creator of all Creation is aware of the 'deadness' in us and the growth of new' in us' ...we witnessed this as well with the tiny blooms in their morning glory 'who insisted on singing their gifts to us.. in and amongst the dry... 'such a delight'!
....Lent is upon us' and we can intentionally focus on the prickly parts of us that the One who faced temptations in the desert and ' overcame... 'it is written' .. the need to remember to zero in on the colorful beauty of the desert floor , to focus on the arms of new life.. Only the One who gives us life', will transform us as we spend time with him in his water.