when life heats up and you need to be held

We were camping when we decided to ascend the foothill of an Arkansas mountain to find this lake cradled like a bowl up against the dam.

The 90 degree temperatures begged for coolness to our skin and each afternoon we left stifling tents in search of water. 

And so we came.

The kids dipping in what looked like floodstage wetness, while we sat under breezy pines.

A concrete line, rimmed one side of the bowl, a dam which held this oasis as if it were God's big hands cupping us in. My visionary mind no longer saw a gray hard surface but huge fleshy Fingers holding a liquid pool.

But man-made strength is a fragile dam.

And it's that confidence we have in our own ability, in our knowledge of how solid we think we've built a life, or in a strength we've come to think is our own, like a dam ready to burst.  

A formidable wall wedged between mountain ridges, dwarfing cars at it's base, gives the appearance of strength.

But truly, it stands by Grace alone.


Let it be one hard rain, one crack in the surface, one failed system, one man-ly error and the whole thing is in peril. In all it's earthly splendor, the dam is still susceptible to the One who can storm it's walls.

There is only one Perfect dam which holds life.

Hidden beneath watery surfaces belied this massive backbone cupping it shut and I quandaried the vast greatness of how this wee, little dam is but a tip of the iceberg of how He's able to cup the worlds, the universe, the whole of creation and never weary or crack under pressure.

But should all the starry hosts fall from the sky, the waters run dry, worlds burn a vapored smoke, should He un-cup all of life away, remove His hand from here....there's still the faith-ink of our names written on His palm, cupping eternal Hope like a pool refreshing our souls.

And how tender was the vision of those precious Hands holding those seeking shelter, just when life began heating up. It's how He holds each and every day, etched on Palms, carrying us ink bled on His skin.

All the more, with Ann ....

--camping with several families and learning to live (temporarily) together and sharing our needs, supplies, responsibilities and knowing this is what community is really about
--soft, warm (sometimes, hot) breezes along cool water-ways and hearing children laughing and splashing
--singing praises in the quiet night, like incense going up with the campfire
--maybe it's the spoiled western world, but these conveniences of heating and cooling and sheltered walls, I thank God for....
--safety, no injuries or bites or major incidents during the whole adventure