The voice of one crying in the wilderness: 'Prepare the way of the Lord, make his paths straight. Every valley shall be filled, and every mountain and hill shall be made low, and the crooked shall become straight, and the rough places shall become level ways, and all flesh shall see the salvation of God.'The day after Christmas I took a walk down a twisting little dirt path near my home. The path winds through an open field where tall grass grows and the Colorado foothills and high mountain peaks frame a magnificent view to the west. As I walked, I listened to my favorite jazz/gospel version of The Messiah. As I listened to the triumphant sounds of the song about a voice crying in the wilderness my soul filled with gratitude.
Luke 3:4-6
"Wilderness" and "desert" are my favorite metaphors for difficult seasons in life. We all have them. No one exits this world without experiencing some pain. Though difficult, seasons of life spent in the wilderness can be gifts in disguise.
As I walked and sang along with The Messiah I realized that for me, time in the wilderness prepared the way of the Lord for me. God has done so much road construction in me. He chose to prepare the way for himself through the desolate wilderness of divorce and single parenting, and the rough places of step-parenting. And I am so grateful that he has. Even if given the chance, I wouldn't trade the gift of intimacy with him he gives me in the wilderness for the easy life I had planned for myself.
I wish that "every valley shall be filled and ... the rough places shall become level" meant removing all the pain and difficulty from my life. Unfortunately, I don't think that is what it means. That would contradict much other teaching in scripture. But he doesn't leave any of us desolate in the wilderness forever. He speaks tenderly to us there. He plants vineyards and makes fountains and turns the wilderness into a oasis of hope.
As I walked along I couldn't help contrasting this Christmas to Christmases that have come before. I have spent many lonely Christmases, having kissed my kids goodbye on Christmas morning so that they could go celebrate with their dad. This year when my kids and step-kids were with their other parents, I treasured quiet moments with a handsome husband who loves me. For years, divorce seemed to have robbed me of the traditions that once made the holidays bright. This year, I celebrated with newer traditions my family and I have developed over the years. After my remarriage, the first holidays as a new blending family together were tense, we weren't all comfortable with the tremendous changes that followed putting two broken families together. This year, there was a lot of laughter and ease instead.
There is still have far to go, and I know that there will be more desert times along my path, but God is with me. He is so good to me. He speaks tenderly to me, and gives me vineyards in the desert and makes my valley of trouble a door of hope (from Hosea 2:15).
