Through a Spiritual Lens September 17, 2012 Issue

Springs of water

David Foote—Gainesville, Virginia

FREMONT RIVER IN CAPITOL REEF NATIONAL PARK. © David Gilbert Foote.

Capitol Reef National Park in south-central Utah was named by pioneer sailors on their way to California. The Freemont River (a small stream) is vibrant with life, but surrounded by surreal rock formations, some with hardly a blade of grass. During a visit to the park last fall, the contrast between the lush abundance of that gleaming cascade and a seemingly barren desert reminded me of the Bible’s many poetic references to the life-saving grace of water. Among them: “And the Lord shall guide thee continually, and satisfy thy soul in drought, and make fat thy bones: and thou shalt be like a watered garden, and like a spring of water, whose waters fail not” (Isaiah 58:11).

I took comfort in the thought that even though many people in the world still feel trapped in a howling desert of materialism, spiritual-mindedness can lead us all to draw refreshment and comfort from such “spring[s] of water.”

Send a comment to the editors

NEXT IN THIS ISSUE

Sentinel Watch

Why violence is not natural to men