Through the wilderness from Egypt to Canaan
we wander in circles.
Every day is something new…
and every day looks exactly the same.
“Haven’t we been here before?”
“No, look: we’ve never seen that flowering bush.”
“Perhaps, but the sting of its thorn feels familiar.”
Traversing wilderness in community is a blessing;
the laughter of children, the warmth of fires for cooking–
all suggest normalcy,
masking the desolation and loneliness.
“How long, O God, will we be unsettled?
How long until we can plant crops with roots
and dig into the earth for a permanent well?”
Moses admonishes that the wilderness is necessary;
we cannot reach our destination
except by this way.
So we keep on keeping on:
“Come, mother. Come, child. Walk a little further.”
“Please just let me rest awhile.”
“Hold my hand: look, there is the cloud of God.
We are not alone.”