As I write this Pastor’s Corner, the family and I are packed into a rented Dodge Grand Caravan and are bombing through the Mojave Desert on our way to Needles, California and on to Flagstaff, Arizona for tonight. We will be in Albuquerque, New Mexico for services tomorrow, and are looking forward to seeing some of the Camp Hye Sierra family, before heading on to our eventual destination of Oklahoma City.

The last time we came this way was on our return trip from the Oklahoma 3 summers ago in a brand-new-to-us Dodge Grand Caravan after our previous van had blown up on the way through Northern New Mexico. (Who says you can’t teach an old dog new tricks?? This time we rented the van!) When we did that trip it was mid-August, and California was experiencing one of its biggest droughts in decades. The area that we’re driving through now was just dead. There was no green, no flowers, nothing – just blowing dust, tumbleweeds and brown… everywhere.

What a difference winter rains make. As we’re going through it now, there are green plants everywhere. Even the occasional Pink flowers here and there on the blooming cacti… it’s beautiful.

As we drive it and take in the sights, I can’t help but associate what we’re seeing with the passages in Isaiah 35 that discuss the blossoming of the waste areas and the blooms of flowers in the deserts.

Isaiah 35:1-2

1     The wilderness and the wasteland shall be glad for them, And the desert shall rejoice and blossom as the rose;

2      It shall blossom abundantly and rejoice, Even with joy and singing. The glory of Lebanon shall be given to it, the excellence of Carmel and Sharon. They shall see the glory of the Lord, the excellency of our God.

In verse 6 it goes on to reference the streams of waters which will flow into these dry areas, and cause grasses and rushes to grow, to make the land productive.

As we’ve driven through this stretch between Barstow and Needles on I-40, we’ve marveled at the sheer square mileage of this space, where there is next to nothing but dirt, volcanic rock, and tumbleweeds now… To think that someday this space will rejoice and blossom, that it will blossom abundantly and become productive land, that people will farm it, and produce much of what we saw in the earlier stages of the drive, the orange and avocado groves, the almond trees, olives, and grapes… it’s incredible to consider.

The plan which God has for his creation – and for the restoration of these things is beautiful, and He has done it for you and for me. Praise our great and wonderful Creator for His love and mercy!

Have a wonderful Sabbath!