Desert Reflections by the Lake

What a beautiful Lord's day! A clear blue sky, a warm breeze and a place to sit by the lake at Elim Lodge, a place of refreshment! As I sat by Pigeon Lake watching Matthew and Nathan swim and play on the beach, I was reading Nancie Carmichael's excellent book, Praying for Rain. This is my second reading as I went through it a year or two ago. As I read her chapter on depression there were a couple of quotes I couldn't wait to share so I called in this "audio post" using my cell phone. I added the text you're reading now later after I arrived home.


A Dry & Thirsty Land

As we encounter our desert experiences on life's pilgrimage we are not alone! The One who Himself was tempted in the desert (yet sinned not), walks with us through our droughts and desperations. We can choose to make these desert places a meeting place where we encounter the living Christ and then, as we emerge from our trials, we can "comfort others with the comfort wherewith we ourselves have been comforted".

"Blessed are those whose strength is in You, who have set their hearts on pilgrimage. As they pass through the Valley of Baca, they make it a place of springs; the autumn rains also cover it with pools. They go from strength to strength, till each appears before God in Zion." - Psalm 84:5-7 (NIV)