Glimpses in the desert

  Israel.

We think of Jesus' temptation in the desert and don't consider how much other empty space Jesus traveled through with his disciples.   I've been to Israel- not sure what it looked like when Jesus walked there but now there is plenty of spaces that are well, barren.  It's a land that causes you to crave water and trust completely on someone greater than you to provide food and shelter.  It's a holy place.

Last week I drove across the Sonoran desert from Tucson to Southern California. http://www.desertusa.com/du_sonoran.html

It's a desert full of saguaro with big fat arms reaching to the sky by Tucson but it's also up to the edge of sand dunes as big as mountains.  It is ringed with various mountain ranges.  Hot, dry, empty.  A holy space.



I drove alone and I reflected- did Jesus long for distraction?  I had updated my phone and erased my books on tape. The radio pretty much reflected the people of the region and for once I would have settled for cowboy music. Nothing against Mexican folk music but it's not familiar folk music to my ears.  Strong cell signals were coming out of Mexico, right across the border, my phone occasionally beeped  to say, "Welcome overseas!  To call back to the US, dial..... Please note international rates apply...."  I didn't really want to talk anyway and that pretty much discouraged it.



Jesus didn't travel alone. He retreated to prepare for each day but his life was lived with people. Walking, talking, resting, finding shelter, being together.  But did He ever long to travel alone- alone with his thoughts, free to stop and explore a glimpse?  And would he have also longed to connect with others, as I do?



So here's my desert glimpses.

iPhones at 70mph make lousy camera.
Oh, to have unlimited time for all of these trips-
but time is always limited by something. 

But for this moment,  I had to stop and I retraced my route for a mile on a rough road that paralleled the interstate.  The mountains weren't the Misty Mountains of Middle Earth- likely no orcs or dwarves dwelled there but the peak tops jagged blue in the distant and evoked a small longing for my own Lothlorien.

What caught my eye was the train cars against the desert mountains.
Quick! Go back before the train moves. 

What is the story behind this train?
Abandoned on the siding?
Waiting?

They didn't move

Are these mountains as empty as they appear?
What stories do they hold?

 I returned three days later and the train cars were still there. Now the rust was obvious.

They were waiting in the desert, art for my eye;  

time standing still. 

Is there empty space you are walking across? Does it feel like a dry and dusty spell?  A desert?

Or are you like me, moving through life on speed control?  

My wandering allows opportunities to stop and explore the glimpse that catches my eye.  I'd love to do a piece of art with these waiting boxcars- will I?

Will you create a moment of beauty from the quick glimpses in your journey- glimpses of art, life, light, or even grace, love or mercy?

This is the season of Lent. 

Waiting, preparing, pondering the great sacrifice to come. 

Some days our only sacrifice may be awareness, attentiveness. 

 Taking the time to exit the freeway and take a picture or two.

 Hold a moment in our mind-

 really taste the orange,  

reflect with gratitude, 

notice the sun, 

see the flower, 

cuddle the baby.  

 And know Jesus will be there. 

Taking the journey with you.