Holy Week with Holding Onto Hope - Monday
For Holy Week 2024 we have selected reflections and artwork from Holding Onto Hope by father and daughter duo, Amy Boucher-Pye and Leo Boucher.
Holding Onto Hope is a 40-day journey exploring the themes of hope and new life through vivid biblical images and can be used through Lent or during any 40-day period.
A Way in the Wilderness
My legs wobbled as I searched for the next foothold amid the slippery rocks. Wiping off the sludge from my trousers, I braced myself for the next step. A few minutes later, I was delighted to come upon a brook (as pictured here). I exhaled, pausing to take in the gurgling sounds as I gazed on the shoots of life appearing next to the muddy remains of winter. ‘I am making a way in the wilderness,’ I reminded myself, thinking of God’s promises to his people.
I was out exploring early in the morning on the Lee Abbey estate in Devon, roaming the hills and walking near the sea before breakfast and the day’s activities. Feeling weary and weighed down by some hard things going on in my family, I stopped to delight in God’s goodness. I sensed his care for me and my loved ones, even as we were separated by many miles. In the quiet I reflected that he loved them more than I did and would care for them. I also sensed that he would be with me as I led the retreat, helping me to be fully present. In those moments, he was making a way in my wilderness.
The phrase ‘I am making a way in the wilderness’ was given to the prophet Isaiah, to speak to God’s people as they left Babylon for Jerusalem, an arduous journey of between 500 and 900 miles, which would take them at least four months. God said to his people: ‘Forget the former things; do not dwell on the past. See, I am doing a new thing! Now it springs up; do you not perceive it? I am making a way in the wilderness and streams in the wasteland’ (Isaiah 43:18–19).
Their trudging in the unwelcoming terrain would have reminded them of their ancestors’ exodus to the promised land, led by Moses. But God tells them not to hanker after the ‘former things’ because he’s ‘doing a new thing’. It’s springing forth for them to notice – the way in the wilderness.
When we feel like we can’t find a strong footing, or we’re discouraged about what lies ahead, we can trust that God won’t fail us. He’ll extend his everlasting arm underneath us as he leads the way. As we hope in him, he’ll increase our trust and faith in him.
God of those who wobble, steady me with your love. Help me,
when I feel hopeless, to hope in you. Immerse me in your pool
of love, the waters that never evaporate. Strengthen me as you
make a way in the wilderness. Amen.
