Reflection for the First Sunday in Lent
poetry and image (c) Jan Richardson
How will we see the angels if we don’t go into the wilderness? How will we recognize the help that God sends if we don’t seek out the places beyond what is comfortable to us, if we don’t press into terrain that challenges our habitual perspective? How will we find the delights that God provides even—and especially—in the desert places?
Blessing that Meets You
in the Wilderness
After the
desert stillness.
After the
wrestling.
After the
hours
and days
and weeks
of emptying.
After the
hungering
and the
thirsting.
After the
opening
and seeing
and knowing.
Let this blessing be
the first sweetness
that touches
your lips,
the bread
that falls into
your arms,
the cup
that welcoming hands
press into
yours.
Let this blessing be
the road that
returns you.
Let it be
the strength to carry
the wilderness
home.
—Jan Richardson