So Thirsty

Psalm 63:1 "O God, you are my God; earnestly I seek you; my soul thirsts for you; my flesh faints for you, as in a dry and weary land where there is no water."    

Thirst.

I have never known the meaning of this word until we moved here. Now the dry, raspy feeling in my throat is becoming all too familiar. I can not seem to get enough water. I wake up in the middle of the night with my tongue stuck to the roof of my mouth.

This weekend, hubby and I took the two youngest on a hike. We walked for about four miles through what the park ranger called the "outback." It was flat and dusty, with a thin dirt path that wound its way along a ground strewn with clumps of cacti and other sharp and pointy bushes. We saw hummingbirds, quail, and lots of holes in the ground - frankly I do not want to know what lived in them.

The mountains in the distance surrounded us. Their rocky peaks jutting up into a sky as clear and blue as any I have ever seen in Florida. It was barren and wild and strikingly stunning.

Thirst.

As I walk through this wilderness, the dust from my steps swirling visably in the air around me, I can not help but draw a spiritual parallel to the landscape that now surrounds me. We have lived the last 17 years in a lush and tropical environment. Surrounded by foliage that thrives and grows like a jungle vine. However, for a while now my soul has been weary and tense. Waiting for something that I couldn't quite put my finger on. Longing for more of Him.

Thirst.

I need to be thirsty. I need to desire Him more than anything else. When things are easy I am way too complacent. When I live surrounded by water, it is too easy to rely on myself. Now, our family is in the desert - literally and spiritually. We are wandering right now, in a land that is both harsh and beautiful. Lonely and not quite sure where we belong. The wilderness is untamed and we don't quite know what to expect.  God is moving.  I can feel it in my marriage, I see the struggles in my children, I feel the battle that is raging in the heavenlies over my family.  My family.  That is humbling.  To think that God, the Almighty Himself wants us to be a part of something He has planned.  Something big enough to make satan tremble.

I am thirsty.

I am drawing closer to Him because He is my lifeline. He is what I have left, and He is enough. As we wait and expectantly examine our surroundings, we notice what we didn't see at first. The flit of a hummingbird, the tiny violet flowers that cover the desert floor just under the shade of a thorny bush or cactus.  The colors that burst across the sky every night at sunset, taking your breath away.  The sloppy kiss of a baby.  The offer to help with dinner and the spontaneous hug from a "big kid."  An answered prayer.  There is water in the desert.  There is respite for tired and weary souls.

His name is Jesus.

Matthew 11: 28-30 "Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.  Take my yoke upon you, andlearn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.  For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.”