"I walked in a desert" by Stephen Crane

I walked in a desert
And I cried:
"Ah, God, take me from this place!"
A voice said, "It is no desert."
I cried: "Well, but -
The sand, the heat, the vacant horizon."
A voice said, "It is no desert."

--Stephen Crane


Jacob 5:
21And it came to pass that the servant said unto his master: How comest thou hither to plant this tree, or this branch of the tree? For behold, it was the poorest spot in all the land of thy vineyard.

22And the Lord of the vineyard said unto him: Counsel me not; I knew that it was a poor spot of ground; wherefore, I said unto thee, I have nourished it this long time, and thou beholdest that it hath brought forth much fruit.

A literal memory: Croswell, Michigan. Our branch had maybe 20 active members on a good Sunday. The town of Croswell itself had been tracted out completely twice in the previous year. We were poor and didn't much money for gas, and the only other towns in our area were even smaller and similarly tracted out. This city girl didn't get much solace from the countryside - not enough people to be interesting, and too many trees to be a blank and exciting desert. I remember everything, though, and there was the proverbial bounty of testimony there.

Less literal, but more comforting: Even when I'm stuck in a desert, Heavenly Father knows I'm there.

I do love Stephen Crane. There's lots more of him to come.