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Recently my Mom emailed me a photo—a red rose in her garden bowing its lovely head to the bird bath in a desperate attempt to find water. But, alas, the bird bath was empty. The next day, Mom told me the rose had turned brown.
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| The Red Rose in the Bird Bath |
A few days later, the legendary Central Florida rainy season began. Torrents of life-giving water changed brown lawns to green and gave beauty to once lifeless flowers. And I found myself hoping the rose had survived.
I’ve never lived in the desert. However, the desert has often lived in me. As I look back over my life, I see many dry spells. But one in particular stands out when I believe God spoke to me.
It was a time of dark depression and loneliness. Even though I didn’t feel like working out that morning, I switched on my tape player and climbed onto my exercise machine anyway. As I rode and sweated, I thought about my life, and the many choices that had led me to this place of despair.
Suddenly, my ears caught the lyrics of the song that was playing. It was an old Larnelle Harris tune:
In the desert of my days
There came no cooling rain
And the burning sun
Stalked me without mercy
And I cried out at the time
I must be paying for some crime
And in my loneliness it seemed nobody heard me
It was God, speaking to me about my personal drought. Like the thirsty rose, I’d attempted to quench my thirst my way. I’d drunk of materialism, entertainment, relationships, etc. But my thirst remained unquenched, like drinking from a dry bird bath.
In the desert of my years
There fell no rain only tears
As I struggled on with hope alone to cling to
The rugged hills all looked the same
Across the endless dry terrain
And to the silent skies
I cried My God where are you
My workout slowed as I wept the cleansing tears of regret and repentance. As I pleaded for God’s forgiveness and mercy, the lyrics poured in to my soul like water from a hydrant and the tears continued to pour down my face.
And then He came to me
In a cool and gentle breeze
And in a healing rain
I heard him say I love you
I’ve been here my child
Every weary mile
Oh there must have been times
When it seemed like I’d forgotten you
For the first time in ages, I felt my soul being drawn toward the Source of Living Water, Jesus Christ. And my parched personal desert drank it in. Oh, how I needed Him! He was the cure for my loneliness, the Healer of my broken heart, and yet I’d pushed Him aside for years.
And I led you through
The barren desert too
To the land of milk and honey
Now before you.
As I wept, I wondered how long it had been since I prayed or studied God’s Word. Couldn’t remember the last time I had done either. No wonder I was shriveling up inside. No water, no life.
Have I been thirsty since? Regrettably, at times I still choose to wander in the desert; but He continues to remind me of His refreshing, life-watering presence. And no matter how often I am renewed by His love, I always smile when I taste those sweet drops of cool water on my parched tongue.
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