The Desert of Eden

When the plane took off it was 32 degrees and snow was on the ground. When the plane landed, it was 71 degrees and sunshine. Last month I had the opportunity to spend two days in Phoenix Arizona. While we are scraping frost off our windows here in Middle Tennessee, they are in the middle of their peak holiday season.

We played three “desert” golf courses, which means taking a piece of desert and turning it into a slice of Eden. I have no idea where they get the topsoil or the grass or the water to keep it all that green, but the contrast between “desert” and “golf course” is practically beyond belief. There were times when I had one foot in the desert, and one foot in Eden. One foot in a place of death, and one foot in a place of abundant life. (Of course, there were many, many times when I was totally in the desert having sliced a shot deep into cactus and tumbleweeds).

The experience has me thinking about life on this planet. How moments of joy so quickly evaporate into moments of sorrow, how one moment life is so good, and the next life is so hard. It’s like every step I take on this planet – I step into life…or I step into the desert…and I’m never sure what the next step may bring.

There is plenty of “desert” right here where I live in the middle of Tennessee. And, there is plenty of “Eden.” I’m looking forward to the day when the desert is no more. Until then…