Hope

Finding Wells in the Wilderness

/ pastorpete51 / 2 Comments 
Then God opened her eyes and she saw a well of water. So she went and filled the skin with water and gave the boy a drink. Genesis 21:19 NIV

Yesterday a post by Hope over at Patientlyhopeful struck a chord with me. As caregivers for an elderly friend whose home was lost 18 months ago in a storm, we find that our entire life is stretched. There is time for prayer, meals and church, but everything else is a great challenge. Not only writing, but any sort of spontaneous parts of our lives have been on hold for a long time. Yes, there are little windows of refreshing and opportunities. But life in general feels like a long wander in the wilderness. Thank God that the wilderness is exactly the spot where God often comes to meet us. Where we find hidden wells, and new directions. Hope’s post reminded me a bit of Hagar’s situation, and this poem came slowly came to me overnight.

Twice Rejected
 

Though she wandered in the wilderness
Cast out and left alone
Her cry was heard by One who sees
At her farthest place from home

For no green pastures grew in that place
And no quiet waters flowed
She could not see the hidden well
Till God called and came and showed

This Castaway now twice rejected
Without hope or plan or plea
Found that God who watches sparrows
Will in deserts set us free


Then God opened her eyes and she saw a well of water. So she went and filled the skin with water and gave the boy a drink. Genesis 21:19 NIV

Photo by Frans van Heerden on Pexels.com

Forever Alive

/ pastorpete51 / 5 Comments

As the watchman waits for sun’s first rays
And a bridegroom turns when the music plays
Hope stands outside our door

As before the flower a bud first swells
And the Robin comes as the snow still melts
Spring breathes and longs for more

At the sunset hour when the grave was sealed
In that silent night when no church bells pealed
Who knew what lay in store?

In grief Mary trudged to the tomb that day
Before the dawn turned black to gray
To that terrible place
Where her Lord had died
Till He came
Called her name
Now forever alive!



Hope deferred makes the heart sick, but a longing fulfilled is a tree of life.
Proverbs 13:12 NIV

Forever Alive
By Peter Caligiuri
Copyright © 2026

Update on Iran

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When I worked for his dad thirty years ago, I met Jacob who was a young man right out of Bible school. The one thing that impressed me then was his passion for serving Christ, right in our local community. This was long before he left for the mission field and I have been blessed to follow his ministry through the years, first in Turkey, and now in Armenia. If you are interested in learning more about what is really happening on the ground in Iran from both a spiritual as well as a personal perspective, it is worth investing twenty-one minutes of your time to listen. Then I would ask you to pray for that outreach, just over the border from the war.