Desserts vs Oceans

I love the water.
I love water games, I love water sports, I love the way that water gleams and sparkles in the sunlight, moonlight and starlight.
I love the water.

I did not always love the water.
When I was younger, I had a fear of deep and turbulent waters. I feared drowning or being lost at "sea". I feared that I was not strong enough to conquer the waves and that help would not get there soon enough should I start to slip beneath the glassy surface.


But, after time, practice, and lots of money spent on swimming lessons, I learned to overcome my fears and appreciate the gift that God had given me.

I learned that sometimes storms and deep water were necessary to help me grow, and that I didn't have to be worried that I might not be strong enough, because Help was always nearby.


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Now I find that I have a new fear: lack of water.

I fear the desert.
I fear that dry place, where I'm thirsty all the time, where I see mirages and feel like I'm surrounded by death and wastelands.
I fear the desert.

I fear that I am lost in the desert. I fear that my throat is too dry to cry out for help, that the wind and sands will confuse and disorient me and that I will become even more lost than I already am. I fear that fatigue will overtake me, loneliness will overwhelm me, and silence will drive me mad. 

I fear the desert.
Or perhaps more than that, I fear desertion.



O God, show me that the desert is a place that I can grow.
Show me how to appreciate the desert without feeling abandoned or deserted.