About

About Shalom in the Wilderness

       The name, "Shalom In The Wilderness," came from a discussion I had with Jack Taylor about finding a name for our house so that I could create a logo to sew on sweatshirts to give as gifts to our guests.  He said he thought the name definitely should have "shalom" in it.  I looked up the meaning of shalom and discovered it means, not only peace, but also completeness, soundness, welfare, safety, health, prosperity, tranquility, contentment, friendship with others, and friendship with God.  Those certainly were qualities I wanted for myself and anyone else who stayed here, so I agreed that "shalom" definitely should be in the name.  

       But what to add with it?

       I considered Shalom in the Woods, but that didn’t seem quite right.  Then I remembered that before we built our house, we had to make a road to the spot where we wanted to build.  To do this Country Guy and I walked through the woods leaving stakes in the ground so the man driving the bulldozer would know where to make the lane.  We have always called the section he had to come through “the wilderness” because the blackberry bushes and multi-flora rose growing there make walking very difficult.  I sometimes equate wilderness with life—difficult to walk through, not knowing where you’re going, or what is ahead--so the name, "Shalom in the Wilderness", seemed to have a larger meaning than “Shalom in the Woods”.

      Then one day when I picked up my Bible it fell open to Ezekiel 34, verse 25 stood out: "I will make a covenant of shalom with them and eliminate harmful beasts from the land so that they may live securely in the wilderness and sleep in the woods." This seemed to describe our place in the woods and God’s intentions toward it and toward those who stay here, so I added the verse to the logo.

       "Shalom" became a blessing I pray for each person as I embroider the sweatshirts.

      When I decided to try blogging, it seemed appropriate to name the blog "Shalom In The Wilderness".

      Shalom is my prayer for you, who read it.  I bless you with peace, completeness, soundness, welfare, safety, health, prosperity, tranquility, contentment, friendship with others, and friendship with God in life and in every wilderness you find yourself.