"I Will..."

In the Isaiah reading for today, the prophet tells us that the Holy One of Israel will

hold our right hand,

deliver the poor and needy,

help us, open rivers on the bare heights,*and fountains in the midst of the valleys;

make the wilderness a pool of water, and the dry land springs of water.

I have a Bedouin friend who runs a camp in the Wadi Rum, a desert valley cut into the sandstone and granite rock in southern Jordan, near the border with Saudi Arabia. With an area of 280 sq miles, it is the largest wadi (river valley) in Jordan. Most of the year Wadi Rum looks like this. There are usually only 14 days of rain per year.

But in the winter, the rain comes, and the picture below is how it looked earlier this week. I have heard my friend exclaim when the rain comes, and today's reading immediately reminded me of the Wadi Rum.

"Fountains in the midst of valleys" the Holy One promised, and here we have a perfect visual

..."so that all may see and know, all may consider and understand, that the hand of the Lord has done this, the Holy One of Israel has created it."

Come, Lord Jesus, hold our hands and remind us of your Light, your Peace, your Love.