In the Wilderness – Morning - Part 1

Greetings Dear Reader,

I have been a wilderness of sorts for about a year.  I have not wandered any real deserts or been on a real walkabout.  I have, however, been spending a great deal of time feeling the depth and pain of who and where I am in life.  I have been trying to assess everything about my life so that I can find a way to complete the journey well. 

The only constant I have seen in this time of wandering is Christ.  There have been moments of despair and moments of elation.  There is pain and joy in the journey.  As I prepare to celebrate Holy Week I ponder the wilderness from which I emerge.  I have encountered others there who do not even realize they are wandering.

There has been pain and there has been healing.  Some of the pain will last for a lifetime; specifically mine.  Emerging from the wilderness is also painful.  I have found some comfort in the solitude.  This is something I talked about a little over a year ago.  Part of my journey was intentional and part was God forcing me to see him more clearly.

Solitude is something I have always avoided.  There is a deep loneliness in me that I have never quite been able to assess or assail.  I know that it is only quiet during those times when I the most connected to Christ.  One would think that this alone would drive me to be close to Christ at all times.  Alas that is not the case.   

This time has provided me with a clearer understanding of just how much of my “self” needs to be discarded so that I have more to give to Christ and those around me.  The wilderness is where Jesus went to prepare himself for his time of public ministry.  I am not sure what God is preparing me for and do not need to know to move forward.  Perhaps a deeper faith from the journey is its own reward. 

In the Wilderness – Michael Card

In the wilderness

In the wilderness

He calls His sons and daughters

To the wilderness

But He gives grace sufficient

To survive any test

And that's the painful purpose

Of the wilderness

In the wilderness we wander

In the wilderness we weep

In the wasteland of our wanting

Where the darkness seems so deep

We search for the beginning

For an exodus to hold

We find that those who follow Him

Must often walk alone

In the wilderness

In the wilderness

He calls His sons and daughters

To the wilderness

But He gives grace sufficient

To survive any test

And that's the painful purpose

Of the wilderness

In the wilderness we're wondering

For a way to understand

In the wilderness there's not a way

For the ways become a man

And the man's become the exodus

The way to holy ground

Wandering in the wilderness

Is the best way to be found

In the wilderness

In the wilderness

He calls His sons and daughters

To the wilderness

But He gives grace sufficient

To survive any test

And that's the painful purpose

Of the wilderness

Groaning and growing

Amidst the desert days

The windy winter wilderness

Can blow the self away

In the wilderness

In the wilderness

He calls His sons and daughters

To the wilderness

But He gives grace sufficient

To survive any test

And that's the painful purpose

Of the wilderness

And that's the painful promise

Of the wilderness

Wishing you joy in the journey,

Aramis Thorn

Mat 13:52 So Jesus said to them, "That is why every writer who has become a disciple of Christ’s rule of the universe is like a home owner. He liberally hands out new and old things from his great treasure store."