I always had an image in my head of the desert as hot, dry, sandy, a wasteland almost void of life. Then last May, I made a trip to Arizona. Yes, it was hot and sandy, much different than the green fields and hills of Wisconsin. Yet I found something else I was not expecting to find.
I timed the trip hoping the saguaro cactus would be in bloom, and it was. The saguaro were not alone, though. I was graced with many other gifts I did not plan to find. The prickly pear cactus was also blooming. The desert was alive with many different kinds and colors of wildflowers. The desert willow and palo verde trees were filled with colorful blossoms of their own. The feather-like bright green fronds of the mesquite trees offered shade from the already blazing sun while it awaited its time to bloom.
Sometimes we refer to “desert times” in our life, times that feel dry and empty, a sort of spiritual wasteland. Not unlike the image I had in my head. But the desert, at least the desert I experienced in Arizona, is not like that. It is filled with both plant and animal life, life that is both resilient and beautiful.
Saguaro cactus can live 150 years or more. All of the plant life – and the desert hosts quite a variety of flowers, trees and cacti – stores what little rain falls in order to survive the dry seasons. Some trees live symbiotically with the cacti that are built to store enough water to meet both plants’ needs. The plant life provides both food and shelter for a variety of animals that call the desert home. The peoples who lived and still live in this area found all they needed to survive in the desert. Beyond just food and shelter, they found the materials needed to craft pottery, clothing, blankets, baskets, jewelry and other items to add functionality as well as beauty to their lives. The people, too, are resilient and beautiful.
When you reflect on a “desert time” in your life, rather than seeing only the difficulties, rather than seeing the desert as an arid wasteland, think of the Arizona desert I encountered in May. What unexpected gifts did you receive? What evidence of your resilience did you discover there? What beauty was revealed in due season? What did you find that added to your life?
-Marge Lindell
Marge, love the descriptions of your dessert experience. The reflection questions are powerful, especially as we begin Lent. Thank You
Great questions to ponder! Thanks for the reminder to keep our hearts and minds open to see new beauty where we least expect it! Happy and joyful Lenten journeys for us all 🙏
Thank you, your expression of your dessert experience reminds me that silence in contemplative prayer enables me to see and experience what I could not otherwise.
Thanks Marge,I’ve been to Arizona many times but never in Spring to see it bloom but the desert has a beauty all of it’s own.Like desert times in our lives , if we trust God ,God will provide beauty and hope.
Thank you Marge for this beautiful description! I love the image of “into the desert” for lent. The desert is not an awful and arid place, but a place that strips away all the unnecessary and excessive, so we can be with true beauty. 6 weeks in the desert is not nearly enough!