Full Bloom

“Wilderness and desert will sing joyously, the badlands will celebrate and flower – like the crocus in the spring, bursting into blossom of song and color.” (Isaiah 35:1 MSG)

I’ve been to Israel and witnessed firsthand the wilderness Isaiah writes of. It’s a dreary business: dry cracked earth nearly void of vegetation or inhabitant. During our journey to the Holy Land, both my husband and I were taken aback by how much Israel resembles Hill Country in Texas. It’s high and dry land with scrubby little trees, terribly arid.

Hill Country in the height of summer.

Today I read this scripture and I pictured Hill Country in bloom. For three blissful weeks of the year, the landscape turns blue and red and orange. Bluebonnets and Indian Paintbrushes burst from the ground; proof that miracles still happen. Whole hillsides and full pastures are transformed with colors so bright it’s as if Sherwin Williams had a hand in it.

Bluebonnets bursting in the arid place.

There’s a day coming where our wilderness will blossom and God will get the glory.

“God’s resplendent glory, fully on display. God awesome. God majestic.” (Isaiah 35:2 MSG)

Maybe life looks like wilderness today. Maybe your soul feels like a dry and thirsty place. Borrow from this promise the morning. Better days are coming. Picture it with me; your soul in full bloom. Breathe it in deeply; the fragrance of a field filled with flowers. Imagine the landscape of your life arrested by beauty. Let that picture push you one day closer to its fruition. God is the Restorer-Redeemer, and when He does, it will be glorious.

Lord, we look forward to our soul in full-bloom. We know that this weeping, heaving, thirsty existence is far from Your original design for us. We wait, with greatest hope, for the restoration of all things: for the burst of life yet to come. We trust You to make it happen and praise You for making it possible. Amen.

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