I will not keep silent

And you shall be called by a new name

that the mouth of the Lord will give.

You shall be a crown of beauty in the hand of the Lord,

and a royal diadem in the hand of your God.  Isaiah 62:2-3

The Sonoran Desert does a great job of desolate.  Especially right before the rains.  The little straw sticks in clumps and the powder dry dust to which they cling looks pretty forsaken.  

And sometimes that’s how my heart feels.  

Today is my sister Jenny’s birthday.  We are exactly the same age for the summer.  And in mind she is the very picture of My Delight Is In Her.  

Golden sunrise warmth emanates from her home.  The beams are wide and deep.  The fireplace blazing.  The garden beds filled with bounty. Toy trucks and crayons and books clutter neat cubbies. The table gleams with savory goodness for the extended neighborhood and there is room for just one more.  And the coffee pot is always full of rich flavor that also supports women escaping from slavery.  There is always another cup.

The road is long with many a winding turn that leads us to who knows where.  From a broken-windowed downtown community through the streets of Marrakech to a florescent-lit room full of stubborn donated computers and even more stubborn street people being dragged to their GEDs and a rescued future past the cute little bungalow nestled at the foot of a black lava mountain to something unexpected or planned for.  

Who woulda thunk?

He would.  

It’s been a rough week.  With hard news.  But no surprises.  

Behold, the Lord has proclaimed

to the end of the earth:

“Behold, your salvation comes;

And you shall be called The Holy People,

The Redeemed of the Lord;

and you shall be called Sought Out,

A City Not Forsaken.