Sunday, August 17, 2008

Rain


When the poor and needy seek water,
and there is none,
and their tongue is parched with thirst,
I the LORD will answer them,
I the God of Israel will not forsake them.
I will open rivers on the bare heights,
and fountains in the midst of the valleys;
I will make the wilderness a pool of water,
and the dry land springs of water.

from Isaiah 41


I went for a retreat in the mountains of Arkansas.

The retreat was on the theme "The Fire of God."

I saw the bare area in the wilderness of the woods where the monastery chapel and common building burned to the ground.

And it rained for twenty hours straight. I walked without distress and slept without air conditioning.

Some of the rain made its way to Memphis, and at least for a while it is cooler.

Below are more pictures from my long weekend away.

The prayer walk, still in its green glory.

The edge of the prayer walk, saved just in time from the fire.

What remains of the remains.

My umbrella from Venice had an American adventure.

The cross outside the retreat center chapel at night.

John Michael, Brother Andrew, Sister Mary Catherine.

Mist in the mountains on the way home.

Beautiful Arkansas scenery....This is near where I grew up.

4 comments:

Anonymous said...

Beautiful scenery!
It's been raining in Mobile too, so it's gotten a little cooler also. I love rain!

suz rubio said...

Breathtaking. Tragic. Mist/torrential rains. Candle/raging flames. Nature and the Father--both beautiful and untamed.

Sheila said...

Perhaps I should have noted that the twenty hours of rain was all gentle, slow, continual. Not stormy, no thunder or lightening. It just calmly began and calmly continued. The kind of rain that farmers long for, that makes things grow, that you can walk in and feel peaceful in.

Lucy said...

Beautiful pistures of a beautiful place, the devastation notwithstanding.

So much lovely water imagery in the Bible, from thirsty desert people...