Hidden Springs

Life can be a wilderness. On many days, it feels just like that. Even the most beautiful of places can, from an experiential standpoint, amount to no more than a desert. Indeed, the world around us is filled with mirages. We look at other people and think to ourselves, "Hey, they’ve got everything. They have it together." That may well be the case, but you can never really tell whose life is mortgaged to the hilt or whose marriage is falling apart ... until it’s too late. Those people can be mirages as well. For many people life is actually lonely, even lots of married folks. For such people, life really can look and feel like a desert. The point here is that the world isn’t always lush and friendly. We struggle with relationships, with health issues, with financial problems, with a whole host of things. What can bring meaning to, or through, all those issues? What makes life worth living, even when it doesn’t feel like it at times? As we wander through the desert of life, where can we go to quench the burning thirst within our hearts? Money is a band-aid, and a deceitful one at that. Relationships help, yet may also be a part of the problem. Fun provides only temporarily relief and, depending on the fun, can result in long term damage. The only thing which seems to promise long term benefit is faith. Faith is the hidden spring in the deserts of life, the only thing which truly refreshes. It outlasts our seasons and moods and misfortunes. God, the creator of all things, is also the answer to all things, bridging the gap between our frustrating human experience and the eternal perspective on this life ... and the one to follow. So blessed is the man or woman who lives by faith for they have discovered the hidden springs which can quench our parched souls and bring meaning to our lives. My hope and prayer for you today is that you may know such springs in your own life, and drink deeply thereof.

Hidden Springs
We drove until the pavement ended
Then several miles more
Abandoning the vehicles
That were not four by four
We drove out through the desert
Until there was no road
Then left our other vehicles
And shouldered up our loads
We hiked up Rockhouse Canyon
Over sand and barren stone
Beyond where most men care to go
And their comforts are unknown
We came upon a hidden spring
We might have easily passed by
Where a little patch of greenery
Just barely caught my eye
It was a tiny seep of water
Welling up from down beneath
Very nearly indiscernible
But for it’s grassy wreath
And yet, a man could take a drink
Or fill his canteen there
Indeed, not shade or palm trees
But thirsty men don’t care
In the deserts of our lives
Springs can be so hard to find
You need a map and sound advice
Or you wind up hiking blind
But when you find the hidden springs
In the places desolate
Drinking deeply of their precious draught
One does not soon forget
The refreshment that they offer
And the life which they sustain
Then we cherish their location
Lest we pass that way again
In our journey through the wilderness
We encounter many things
But blessed is the man who knows
The paths to hidden springs
By Frank Carpenter ©