Desert Beauty

Years ago I told my then newlywed husband that I would follow him anywhere except the desert. While some people love the desert and others think–say it with me–”it’s a nice place to visit, but I wouldn’t want to live there,” I did not even want to visit. I did not want so much as to see it on television. I’d been there a few times and had enough!

The Lord tested my loyalty. Apparently, I passed the test, because we moved to the desert three years into our marriage, and we have been here ever since.

God has funny ways of teaching us contentment. The desert is one of the tools he uses on me. While I frequently chose to be blind to the stunning beauty of the mountains surrounding our home in all directions, he forced me to see. He used little girls who would call us out every evening to watch the glorious sunsets painting our mountains. He used my husband’s songwriting ability to focus me on the wonders of Creation and Creator. Whereas I was purposefully immune to the amazing weather we experience nine months of the year, He forced me to appreciate it, setting my husband to the task of making a mini-paradise in our backyard. There we have spent many an evening enjoying our beautiful climate, sitting around our fire pit, camping, chatting on the patio. The charming trail winding around our yard and the nice grassy patch have contributed to hours of fun, exercise, laughter, and togetherness. When I grew intentionally oblivious to the remarkable day-trip destinations that surround us, He filled my camera with pictures of the remarkable places we have been, possible only because of where we live.

Contentment is not a right. It is a battle. It is a struggle. It is a prize. If I cannot be content right here in our desert valley, then I cannot be content anywhere. I would like to say with Paul that I have learned to be content in all things….but I’d like to forego the circumstances that brought him to that truth! No jail cell for me, thank you! I’ll stick with my beautiful desert.

Photo below: Stephen captured the beauty of this little mountain range out our front door. Yes, these are the little mountains! The big ones you need to see firsthand!

This is our front door view of our "little" mountain range.