On Thirst

On Thirst

 

My work has turned to the topic of discernment—both personally and professionally. It’s a new kind of journey. And while I often walk amidst verdant roads, I find myself occasionally parched. This is made all the more difficult by false steps.  I sometimes lose my way.

 

Jan Richardson has written a series of poems for Lent about wilderness (Circle of Grace, pp. 91 and following.) Images of the desert evoke a longing in me to be satiated in my desire to know which paths to walk in.*

 

These poems have wandered by my desk recently. Okay, let’s get real. They’ve parked on my reading pile and plan to stay for a while. I wonder if they might speak to you along your way.

 

On writing about the desert, Richardson says in an excerpt from “Where the Breath Begins,” pp.101-102:

 

If you have come here

desolate,

if you have come here

deflated,

then thank your lucky stars

the desert is where

you have landed—

here where it is hard

to hide,

here where it is unwise

to rely on your own devices,

here where you will

have to look

and look again

and look close

to find what refreshment waits

to reveal itself to you.

 

 

While she is writing about being filled with Breath of the Spirit, all desert imagery causes me to long for a long cool drink that satisfies.

 

Are you thirsty? Do you need a drink of Water?

How are you following those longings for true refreshment?

Digging deeper?

 

*Jeremiah 6:16