Honestly, I didn’t have the heart to photograph my garden this past month. May was a month to admire and glory in my garden. June was relentless in heat and lack of rain. I spent the month watching the heat and drought ravage the yard and gardens like an invisible fire.
Even when I knew the rain was soon to come, I couldn’t bring myself to go out and document the browned and wilted plants. The weather was too unpleasant for me and the view was so terribly depressing. Why would anyone ever like to see my struggling garden? Why would I want to venture out with a heat index over 100?
Most times, we have no reluctance sharing our moments of beauty and glory. You want pictures of my youth? I’ll give you pictures of the fresh beauty I was. Pictures of Mary, the near middle-aged? Not so much.
Hope in the Drought
Towards the end of our June drought, I began to say over and over: “It has to rain sometime. This drought cannot last much longer, that’s not the pattern of Georgia.” “Dear Lord, please send us rain!”
On reflection, the question I turn from my garden into my heart is, “Must I close down and hide when the drought comes?” When life’s going gets hard, I like to close the shutters of my heart and bunker down in survival mode. Why not continue to open the doors to what I do have? Is there hope for this dry weary land?
Sadly, I have no pictures to show of my drought-afflicted garden. My shutters remained closed. The only picture I do have are of the survivers. You can only believe that I survived the drought through my words, not through a visible example.
A Thirst not for Water
Today’s scripture speaks of dryness and thirst:
“Yes, days are coming, says the Lord GOD,
when I will send famine upon the land:
Not a famine of bread, or thirst for water,
but for hearing the word of the LORD.” Amos 8:11
Our thirst for water, our thirst for love, for interior or exterior peace leaves our hearts dry, wretched, depressed, angry. What rain is there to sate this thirst, cracked land? The answer, my friend, is not only reason but also fire.
The Fire of the Heart
May is a time of joy and consolation. June is a time of fire of the heart. Catholics will know what I mean. June is dedicated to the Heart of Jesus, the Heart which is often depicted on fire for love of us. June is an anomaly. The Fire of His love, meets the thirst in our hearts. His thirst from the Cross meets our soul’s desire for consolation. His thirst is for souls. For souls who like my poor garden plants are on the verge of death for want of love and grace. This is the anomaly of the Cross. This crossing through bitterness, gains hope through Jesus’ passing from Death to Resurrection.
Again, must we hide our interior dryness in despair? Or, is there a Font of Mercy, freely given, generously enriching hearts who come to it?
“If anyone thirst, let him come to me and drink. He who believes in me, as the Scripture has said, ‘Out of his heart shall flow rivers of living water.'” John 7:37-38
There Is Hope for those in drought. Do not run. No need to shutter up. For all who thirst there is water. If only we would ask for it.
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