Deserts I have Visited Have Been Not So Very Real!

We have nothing on this continent that compares to the desert pictured below. What we do have I've gone to visit and come away less than excited. From California to Texas in the US we've got a few places that stand out in memorable visions. West Texas in particular, where during the last world war the government came up with the idea of constructing huge concrete bowls in the desert to stockpile oil. Now there was an idea! It didn't work! The concrete cracked in the shifting sand and the oil leaked right back out into the earth. What we have left is several deep bowls approximately three times the size of a football stadium. You can visit them out near Monaohans, Texas, where local inhabitants gather after sundown for the sake of revelry. Real deserts, like the picture with the camels and the sand that goes on endlessly, I would love to visit. Think of it as an unpainted canvas that all traces of use disappear with the next breeze. The potential is as limitless as the deserts themselves. Everyone has seen the movie scenes with an "oasis" in them. Those places where the water continues to rise to the surface and creates a veritable garden in an otherwise barren region of the world. I like the imagery that the "oasis" brings when we think of the peaceful place that God provides in the midst of the barrenness life often presents to us. I don't suppose it's too bad if one 'has' to travel that way, if you have many to accompany you and a route to follow. But I'm sure we have all faced those journies through life's deserts without a companion, or so it seemed.
The oasis that God provides in the midst of our sojourning is so cool, so laid back and inviting, I can't express anything more than thankful amazement! Combine that with the reality of God's willingness to share even the most desolate of travels with us, and you have before you a veritable feasting place in the throes of life. South Dakota has a place called the "Badlands," where(35 years ago)I used to go camping. I don't think it's legal to be out there anymore, may not have been back then, but it's a great place to encounter the desert in a personal way. I never knew how alone I was until I began my walk of faith. I survived, just barely at times, and the surviving has brought me to one conclusion, much like Alice in her travels through the looking glass. "Which road do I take?" she asked. "Where do you want to go?" responded the Cheshire cat. "I don't know," Alice answered. "Then," said the cat, "it doesn't matter." Whatever road you choose, it does not have to be traveled alone. God bless, Preacher.