Finding Joy in the Desert

When we first moved here, it was the middle of a blazing-hot Arizona summer. I laughed as we crossed a bridge with a caution sign that read, “Ice Forms First on Bridge” and the thermometer was sizzling in the triple digits. I thought the road crew was crazy. Ice on the bridge would have been a welcome sight!
As we wound our way up to our new home, wavy heat shimmers radiated off the asphalt street. There were no spreading mesquite trees to block the sun’s light or provide shade. Just one pink-toned stucco track house after another baking sparkles in the Arizona sun.
Inside our home, postal wrapping paper partly decorated the windows Hubby could cover before I arrived with my Mom. The boys, who had traveled to their new address on an earlier moving trip, were tumbling down the stairs in giant cardboard boxes. And the air-conditioning insulated us from the scorching temperatures. We collapsed in sofas and chairs, soaking in the refreshing cooler temp, assessing our most important next chore, and staring in utter amazement at the boxes stacked like building block towers atop the white, kitchen tile counters. I worried they would weaken the tile overhang on the breakfast bar area and kitchen island. But the first chore would be postal wrapping more of the windows for privacy.
We stretched the brown paper make-shift curtain about two-thirds of the way up the windows, leaving an opening to the Arizona sky, sun, heat, moon and stars. While the heat baked our bedrooms in the daytime, and awakened us with the chickens each morning, this one-third opening held breathtaking views as the gentler evening sun sank in the West.
Colors from an artist’s pallet streaked across the the celestial canopy in hues from baby blue and pink to burnt orange and crimson red. Someone in the house would catch the first glimpse peeking above the paper curtain and call everyone else to the window. There we would stand, mouth agape, filled with awe, entranced by the beauty drifting across the sky. There, looking in wonder at God’s artistry, I found joy in a land that had seemed hostile, that made me bristle like its native cacti, that left me dry and hungering for all I had left behind.
These moments became a regular evening occurrence during the summer months when everything else about the desert blistered our sensitivities. Someone would be looking for the spectacular in the heavens and would notify the rest of us. Born of beautiful repetition, these events became known as “Sunset Alerts”. Just two words was all it took to tip the house to the west as we all ran toward the magnificent view outside our windows.
For years, this lived as a summer ritual for our family, even after we peeled off the postal wrap and enclosed ourselves behind wood blinds and Plantation Shudders. Then Mom became ill, not able to move as quickly, and some of the zest whooshed out of our “Sunset Alerts.” Life became more routine, focused around care for the family, getting dinner on the table, making sure homework was done, checking that Mom had taken her medicine, and eventually tucking all into bed. Occasionally, someone’s eyes would drift upward through an open window and note the painted sky.
It was just this summer with new camera in hand and a blog to publish our discoveries that “Sunset Alerts” became the evening’s highlight. The desert joy that we once experienced was renewed, and we could not take our eyes off the heavens.
May our summer repertoire bring you as much joy as it has brought us.
“May his name endure forever; may it continue as long as the sun.” Psalm 72:17 NIV
In what difficult situation have you found joy?
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omigoodness – this whole post is breathtaking – with what color does He paint the skies!
Thank you for linking up with Three – this is a treat I wouldn’t have wanted to miss!
Thank you for showing an artist from the midwest that there is something out there besides blue. Thank you for bringing me this joy in full color today!
WOW! LOVELY PICTURES!
Thank you for sharing them, I am grateful I came!
Blessings and much joy over you!
Kelly~So glad you enjoyed the sunsets. They’re a real treat for us here in Arizona. A blessing at the end of a hot day!
Carol~You have some beautiful green out there in the midwest that I definitely enjoy and wouldn’t mind a little more of! Thanks for stopping by.
Becky~Glad you came by and enjoyed the sunsets. Drop in again some time.
From My Heart to Yours,
Janis
Janis,
Absolutely breathtaking pictures. I’m “oohing” and “aahing” out loud!
In what difficulty situation have I found joy? Hmmm…sometimes when I’ve been sick, I find a quiet place inside where He feels close. Maybe because I feel small, and helpless – and yet, I know He’s with me, healing me.
Thanks for sharing the lovely Arizona sky…
GOD BLESS!
i love your families’…’sunset alerts’…
The heavens are singing the glory of God… Psalm 19:1
The sunsets sing His praises and glory for me as well.
From My Heart to Yours,
Janis
love, love, lovely, Janis!
thx for posting 🙂
reminds me of our own ‘sunset alerts’ here on the prairies – vast expanses of sky that declare His creativity …
Wow! those were awesome photos of our wonderful skies here in Arizona! Your blog was exceptional as well. I took some similar pictures one morning on one of my walks and was wanting to get them to you but I see you have already gotten and many more!!Good job, Sister!!!
Karen
breath-taking! a stunning contribution to ‘joy’. my crew loves watching the Master Artist paint His canvas every evening as well. we have been out in the country for a few years now and have gone through some very difficult times, but this gorgeous sky!! His love and care always seems so personal and tender as we gaze on His sunsets…I don’t know why, but it just blesses us so!