5 years in the Wilderness

[galtpastor]

I spent the first 5 years of my pastoral ministry in the High Desert of Nevada. While the community was 20,000+ the isolation and independence of the people certainly created a 'wilderness' for my family and me.

It took several years before I realized there was another color than brown (besides the blue sky). For a brief period in the spring you could glimpse subtle shades of green.

One local shared about his large local trees and I laughed. (Nothing was over 2 foot in height.) He decided I needed a first hand observation. We spent the rest of the afternoon digging up one of the big trees. It was then I discover that his 2 foot tree had a root system that was 20 feet deep or more to find enough moisture to grow. He called it his upside down tree.

I could not help but realize in such an environment (desert/wilderness) I also needed to have deep roots to gather in the living water I needed to not just survive, but thrive.