Desert into Pools...

Hi friends,

Psalm 107:35 declares of the Lord that "He turns a desert into pools of water, a parched land into springs of water." 

I don't know about anyone else, but I feel like in the last year there have been some pretty dry, desert-like patches of life. Whether it is the isolation resulting from the pandemic, stresses and strains in close relationships, lack of ability to worship together as usual, or any other number of factors, sometimes life just feels dry. We can do the things we have always done and there doesn't seem to be the same life in them. We all go through these times - no one is exempt, not even Jesus. He was led in the wilderness for forty days, just as the Israelites wandered in the wilderness for forty years. But even in these dry and thirsty places, there is hope, because we serve a God who turns deserts into pools of water and who brings springs of water in the middle of a parched land. 

It is interesting that a few verses before this one, the psalmist says that God also turns rivers into desert (v.33). You see, God can and does do both. Sometimes he brings dry seasons into our lives for a reason, whether as discipline, a test, or an opportunity for growth. Just because we are in a dry season, doesn't mean that we have done something wrong (that may be the case, but we have to search our hearts and ask the Holy Spirit rather than assume). And it doesn't mean that God has abandoned us. He is there with us in the dry seasons, and we can cling onto hope that he will bring rain again, at the right time. 

I used a combination of the new Thirsty Soul set (that has coordinating dies!) along with the older set Refresh My Soul to create the cacti. I stamped them on watercolour card, coloured and cut out, then glued onto the background that I had painted in my Journaling Psalter with acrylic paints. I used a combination of other sets for the text: Rebecca Script Alpha, Living Water, Bitty Minnie Alpha, and Messy Stamped Alpha. 

I pray that God would turn the dry places of our lives in pools of refreshing water, and I also pray that while we are still in the dry places, we would rely on the presence of the Holy Spirit to strengthen us and help us to grow.

Be blessed...

x Amy x