The “Streams in the Desert” Sisterhood

“Then those who feared the Lord talked with each other, and the Lord listened and heard…”
          Malachi 3:16 NIV

Recently I was asked to think back on a hard season of my life and recall a good or funny memory from it. I thought about when I quit my teaching job some years back, about the loneliness and confusion I felt as I set out to become a writer. Soon I began to smile and even laugh in my heart as I remembered three friends God gave me during that time. Two of them were going through some very hard and heartbreaking things; the other was our upbeat and wise cheerleader.

Our foursome kicked off when one of the heartbroken friends began raving to the rest of us about a devotional book she was reading. She would get so excited saying that it always had the perfect word for her discouraged heart. She even quoted to us from it. The book was “Streams in the Desert” and it wasn’t long before we all had a copy.

So began what I call “The Streams in the Desert Club.” Oh it wasn’t an official club. In fact it was very unofficial. But a meeting came to order anytime one might see another and say, “Did you read ‘Streams’ today?” (Our upbeat friend called it “Storms” since she thought the topics were always about something so stormy.)

In our club of four I knew I could count on four things: confidentiality, sympathy, prayers, and laughter. It was a sweet sisterhood. And though it’s been years since that time, I still smile when I think about us.

Here is a truth: In every trial there will be a blessing. In sorrow or hardship, you will find something sweet. Watch for it. Count on it. It is God’s way.

I’ll leave you with this passage from “Streams” today.

“The burden of suffering seems a tombstone hung about our necks, while in reality it is only the weight which is necessary to keep down the diver while he is hunting for pearls.”
-Richter