In my last week of Nepal, I got a new tattoo. (I won’t say how many that makes now, but if you message or comment with the right number, I’ll bring you back a special souvenir!) I have been wanting to get something like it for quite a while; I have been thinking about getting deer antler because my favorite hymn has long been: “As the deer panteth for the waters, so my soul longeth after thee. You, O Lord, are my one desire and I long to worship thee” (taken from Psalm 42). Recently, the idea to add in my two favorite plants, desert sage and lavender, has taken root.
This month I felt like a had a revelation about what this all really meant. Every day, our team sat in one place and prayed as individuals, and I took that time to pray through the Psalms. Reading those praises and sorrows from antiquity gave me new understanding to God’s character as represented in deer and plants. The reasonings are numerous, and monumental to me. Line after line, Psalm after Psalm, relates God to the power of storms, of the flow rivers, of water.
There’s something you should know about me that might make the gravitas of all of this fall together a bit more smoothly: I unequivocally love water. Standing outdoors in the rain, swimming in oceans, stepping through creeks; nothing brings me more joy. And on a bad day- when I feel tired, worn-out, depressed, fatigued, taking a shower (even dipping my feet in a pool) can immediately lift my spirits. Even more, water and all its related forms helps me understand God the most clearly. Nothing quite makes sense like when I think of lines like “deep cries out to deep”, “when oceans rise, my soul will rest in Your embrace”, “for the dry season is over, there is a cloud beginning to swell”.
So, here is my reasoning:
{deer antler: Psalm 18:33 says “He made my feet like the feet of a deer and set me secure on the heights”; and obviously, Psalm 42:1-3 says “As the deer pants for the water so my soul longs after you. My soul thirsts for the living God.”}
{lavender: a plant that does not drown but flourishes with rain– whether a stormy deluge or pleasant shower– just think of the Pacific Northwest, why is it so known for lavender?… one of my favorite books says that like lavender, a PNW-er is “never quite themself until after a good soak”; additionally a myriad of psalms speak of God’s abundant love, power, and provision through stroms.
Psalm 68:33 says “He who rides upon the highest heavens of old”,
Psalm 77:18 says “The voice of Your thunder was heard in the storm … Your path led through the sea, your way through the mighty waters”,
Psalm 36:8 says “you give your children drink from the river of your delights”,
Psalm 65:9-12 (paraphrased) says “the river of God is full of water, you water [the Earth] abundantly, the pastures of the wilderness overflow”,
Psalm 147:8 says “He covers the heavens with clouds; He prepares rain for the earth; He makes grass grow on the hills.”}
{desert sage: a lovely smelling plant which grows in the unforgiving dryness of the desert. to me this says that even in the wilderness, only God can bring forth life – which He does bountifully;
Psalm 78:15 says “He split the rocks in the wilderness and gave them water as abundant as the seas”,
Psalm 107:35 says “He turns a desert into pools of water, a parched land into springs of water”,
Psalm 81: 6-7 ‘I removed the burden from your shoulders… In your distress you called and I rescued you, I answered you in the secret place of a thundercloud” [i LOVE that!],
Psalm 143:6 “My soul thirsts for you like a parched land.”}
God is so mighty, but He doesn’t just use His omnipotence to reign with glory and justice, He uses it to bless and provide for us, simply because of His Love. He showers us with provision, He fills our cup so that they overflow. What a good, good Father.
“the God of glory thunders… over many waters, the voice of the Lord is full of majesty, the voice of the Lord shakes the wilderness”
*excerpts from Psalm 29*
