I may be a glutton for punishment, but I love the Israeli wilderness. It’s one of my favorite places to take people during study tours in the Holy Land. It’s barren, hot, and rocky. It’s what I imagine being on Mars must feel like. Needless to say, it’s certainly not a walk in the park. However, there’s an unseen beauty in the wilderness.

I think of the wilderness as one of God’s favorite classrooms to teach His People. It’s a place He takes them to learn who He is, who they are, and how they should live.

My kids were essentially sick for an entire month last winter. I cleaned up more vomit in a month than I have in a lifetime and it’s a miracle that our son didn’t end up in the hospital dehydrated. Throughout the week, my wife Sarah and I shuffled our schedules so that we could take turns being with the kids while the other went to work, but eventually the Sunday morning alarm went off.