Hello, and welcome to another blessing Sunday. Traveling with me on this path are
Lynda Lambert who shared the idea with me.
and
Abbie Johnson Taylor.

I realize that even now the last thing some folks wanna see is rain. TX is reeling from flooding in the hill country. My sister was here from Chicago and said they had a glut of it. But when you live in the desert like me, where a quarter of an inch was the most rain we’d experienced this year, it’s like treasure from heaven.

It’s amazing the transformation that takes place. Brown parched vegetation turns a deep shade of green. Flowers literally raise their heads. Bird songs fill the air. It reminds me of Isaiah 35.

5  Then will the eyes of the blind be opened and the ears of the deaf unstopped.
6  Then will the lame leap like a deer, and the mute tongue shout for joy. Water will gush forth in the wilderness and streams in the desert.
7  The burning sand will become a pool, the thirsty ground bubbling springs. In the haunts where jackals once lay, grass and reeds and papyrus will grow.
8  And a highway will be there; it will be called the Way of Holiness; it will be for those who walk on that Way. The unclean will not journey on it; wicked fools will not go about on it.
9  No lion will be there, nor any ravenous beast; they will not be found there. But only the redeemed will walk there,
10  and those the Lord has rescued will return. They will enter Zion with singing; everlasting joy will crown their heads. Gladness and joy will overtake them, and sorrow and sighing will flee away.
New International Version (NIV)

I wrote a song back in 2001–and sang it at church just 2 days before Sept. 11. Here are the lyrics.

Streams in the Desert

When the night is unrelenting and the silence gives way to fear,

When the darkness feels unending, and the road ahead’s unclear,

Then grant to me your vision

Of my life through your loving eyes,

And give me ears to hear your voice

Until the day arives–

Chorus: When the eyes of the blind are opened

And the ears of the deaf shall hear.

When the tongue of the mute will sing for joy,

And the lame will leap like a deer–

When streams will flow through the desert

To quench a thirsty land,

And every tear will be wiped from our eyes

By the touch of the Savior’s hand.

If you go before me,

I won’t be afraid

Keep my feet from stumbling,

And guide me in Your ways

And grant my greatest longing,

To hear you say “Well done!”

When at last my journey’s through,

And the day has finally come–

Chorus:

There will come a time when creation is whole again, when all things are made new. Sometimes it feels like a far distant promise, but through faith we know it’ll come to pass. Meanwhile, we can hope in that bright shining future when everything will be put right.

Lord, give those of us who are called by Your name a vision of the wonders that await, and help us stay the course until we receive what you have promised to us. Amen.