Desert Times



Deserts seem like huge wastelands,
wide stretches of wind-swept sand
and prickly shriveled cacti plants.
Yet dryness actually causes cacti
to bloom, to produce delicate
flowers of pink, purple, and gold,
according to botanists.

 Our own arid times that span out 
like parched arroyos carved into our souls
perhaps can birth beauty too
if we allow God to hollow out our egos
and let our true selves emerge
in full blossom, radiant and alive,
ablaze with a fire that never goes out,
overflowing with a love that touches 
    all the desolate places of the world.  

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