Wilderness

It has always been in places of barrenness and isolation, where the heart of man begins to perceive that which, in the midst of his fast-paced life, he never could. Removed from the subtle pleasantries and distractions of his workaday world, his needs become simplified and yet more urgent; his ears become more sensitive and able to hear those gentle songs of heaven beginning to resonate in his soul. He looks out on the vast but beautiful night sky filled with thousands of brilliant stars, and he is reminded of a Creator who has set the seasons and times and boundaries above for all to marvel over. He listens as the whipping wind beats against his ears. And in the all-consuming quiet, he is confronted with his own emptiness, his own spiritual poverty. He is forced to confront those inner recesses of the soul that craved the bread of heaven and the water of life, but until now have only known of the emptiness of a fast-food, image-driven world.

Indeed, whenever God has desired to bring His people into a deeper understanding of Himself, it has more often than not, been the wilderness, the desert, the barren places of the world, where He has chosen to do so.

~Lt. Carey H. Cash in A Table in the Presence --excellent book, by the way!

I just breathed the breath of spring! It's 45 degrees and the sun is shining. I was in short sleeves and sweating on my walk. It really felt like 65. The snow has been melting a lot for the last several days, and the river is swollen with the extra run off.

Feel free to keep commenting on the camping post. There's another question coming up soon, but I want to make sure people are finished with the last:)