Desert: Dry, barren, a landscape or region that receives very little precipitation.
Oasis: a fertile tract in a desert where the water table approaches the surface; a haven, a shelter serving as a place of safety or sanctuary.
I'm grateful for both the desert of challenges and the oasis of friendship, family, and loved-ones. I'm grateful that when I was a teenager, a child was conceived in a desert far from my home. He grew to manhood. Served a mission. Fell in love. Married his sweetheart. Together they brought amazing children into this world. And then one blessed day our paths crossed and a friendship grew. It continues to grow. It continues to confound me. It is an oasis in a desert.
"And then one blessed day our paths crossed and a friendship grew..."
ReplyDeleteHow fortuitous and blessed you are to have your paths crossed with his. Friendship is a priceless blessing. I am anxious to learn how this friendship of yours will continue to grow and to confound you. Isn't that a wonderful thing to ponder and anticipate?
Yes Beck, it certainly is! I also wonder what will become of our friendship and how it will continue to change me.
ReplyDeleteIn the early years, he would go on vacation and I would think, that's it. He'll come back and it will be over. But vacation after vacation he has returned and our friendship has resumed. I've become more trusting, less paranoid, more secure, more comfortable in my own skin because he is comfortable in his.
Long before we met I drew encouragement from the lyrics of Stephen Sondheim:
Could be
Who knows?
There's something
due any day
I will know right away
Soon as it shows
It may come
cannonballin' down
through the sky
Gleam in its eye
Bright as a rose!
Who knows?
It's only just out of reach
Down the block, on a beach
Under a tree
I got a feeling
there's a miracle
due
Gonna come true
Coming to me
Could it be?
Yes it could
Something's coming
Something good
If I can wait
Something's coming
I don't know what
it is
But it is
Gonna be great!
With a click
With a shock
Phone'll jingle
Door'll knock
Open the latch!
Something's coming,
don't know when
But it's soon
Catch the moon
One handed catch
Around the corner
Or whistling down the river
Come on - deliver
To me
Will it be? Yes it will
Maybe just by holding still
It'll be there!
Come on,
something, come on
in
Don't be shy
Meet a guy
Pull up a chair
The air is hummin'
And something
great is coming
Who knows
It's only just
Out of reach
Down the block, on a beach
Maybe tonight
Maybe tonight
Maybe tonight
That "tonight" happened on lunch hour almost twelve years ago. My life hasn't been the same since.