Too often when I look at something, I see the bad in it first. As I look out over the vastness of the Coachella Valley, I see the problems and issues. However, I want to look at it from the perspective of God’s heart.
This is an amazing place full of symbolism and creativity. There is a sense of hardy survival amid arid dustiness. The hostile environment is transformed by water.
On February 14, 2019, we had a flash flood which forever changed our environment, roads were washed out and many plants happily living in the washes have been destroyed. In the mountains where there used to be soft folds, deep crevasses have taken up residence. One mountain side grabs my attention. It used to look like a well-worn baseball mitt. Now I’m looking into a shallow cave with amazing stalagmites reaching toward the sky as a testament to the power of water.
On the flip side, the rain has brought about a “super bloom.” Plants that have laid dormant for a long period have more flowers and fruit on them than at any time in my memory. Some of the washes continue to have trickles of water running through them giving life to frogs, caterpillars and other critters we don’t normally get to see. When water is present things happen. Water can destroy, transform and give life.
I love how God uses the natural to illustrate Biblical truths. His living water does the same thing in my life. It destroys the things that keep me from His presence by washing away the things that are not rooted in Him. His water transforms my life giving it new meaning and purpose. The Water of Life gives me life abundantly – a super bloom life.
Though most days have a rhythm and pattern, if you are paying attention the shadows, colors and textures keep changing because God is in the details. A mundane existence is not the norm when the River of Life is flowing through you. Possibilities become unlimited going even beyond our natural horizon when we are in contact with the Water of Life. Our horizon opens like the vast horizon of the Coachella Valley full of possibility and promise because of the water flowing through it.