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| Grand Canyon, AZ |
It was nearly a year ago, I think, Bill discovered a YouTube channel we both quickly came to love. It's called "Desert Drifter," and it follows a young man named Andrew Cross as he explores, usually solo, the desert southwest of the United States with simply a backpack and his camera (including a drone). With Andrew, we have seen cave dwellings, evidence of daily life such as postsherds and artwork and smoke-charred canyon walls, where few other feet have trod in a thousand years or more. We've come to think of Andrew as part of our family and to look forward to our next adventure with him.
A couple of weeks ago, when Bill checked the Desert Drifter channel, we were surprised to see Andrew's wife Evelyn standing in front of a brick wall, sharing tearfully that her husband had been involved in a devastating car crash and pleading for prayers as Andrew fought for his life in the ICU. As my brothers and sisters in Christ will understand, our kinship is often felt deep in the spirit without a particular word being said. Somehow early on, as Andrew explored this extraordinarily beautiful part of our blessed country, his sweet, gentle spirit and his reverence for the "Ancient Ones" and the land made me say, "I bet he's a Christian." Farther along, he made reference to his faith, and I smiled. Upon hearing of his situation, then, we immediately began praying for him, his family, and his caregivers, all the while thanking God for the knowledge that no matter the outcome, Andrew is in Jesus's hands.
As details emerged on the accident, it became apparent that Andrew's merely surviving was nothing short of a miracle. A Caring Bridge site was soon set up, and the outpouring from around the globe has been astounding. This young man (age 35, I believe) has 450,000+ followers on YouTube, and MANY of us are believers, judging by the prayers and encouragement that are posted daily. I found a podcast interview a few days ago (done 9 months ago, I believe) in which Andrew talked freely of his faith, his life, and what brought him to "Desert Drifter." He was in Christian ministry, and yet he walked through a valley, and this exploration of remote places arose from his need for consolation and direction. He needed to be alone with God.
While I follow the daily updates on Andrew's progress on Caring Bridge, I can't help wondering if this time when his body is necessarily resting and hopefully healing, God isn't somehow preparing His next big step for Andrew. I'm thinking Andrew is even now exploring more caves and petroglyphs with his Savior by his side, guiding him deeper into relationship and the knowledge of His plan for Andrew's future. I'm truly believing that when Andrew emerges from this deep rest, he will have a clearer vision of God's purpose for him moving forward, far beyond what any of us can imagine! (Ephesians 3:20).
Yet this one thing I know: no matter what happens to Andrew's broken (for now) earthly body, one day, hopefully many years in the future, he will stand with me and all his brothers and sisters in Christ before the throne of God and hear, "Well done, good and faithful servant .... Enter into the joy of your master.’" (Matthew 25:21 ESV) I pray you will be there, too.
Dear reader, we ALL have valleys or deserts to walk through in life-- they just come in different shapes and sizes, like those Andrew has explored. Here was a vibrant young man, driving home from one of his adventures, innocently stopped at a red light, when out of nowhere came a speeding van that plowed into him and could have ended his life in an instant. That could be you or me today. Yet this is ALWAYS my prayer for you: that no matter what you may walk through on this imperfect earth, you do so with your hand in the hand of Jesus Christ, Israel's Messiah, God's only Son, the One Who willingly gave His life in a brutal, unimaginably painful way so that each one of us might spend eternity with Him at Our Father's feet, drifting no more. EVERYONE will live forever; earthly death is not the end for anyone. It's just a question of where we choose to spend eternity by accepting or rejecting the Son.
"No one who denies the Son has the Father. Whoever confesses the Son has the Father also." (1 John 2:23 ESV)
"I am the gate. If anyone enters by me, he will be saved and will come in and go out and find pasture." (John 10:9 CSB)
✝️
NOTES:
1. Find Desert Drifter here: https://www.youtube.com/@Desert.Drifter
2. Andrew's Caring Bridge: https://www.caringbridge.org/site/5fcb666d-e0b8-11ef-abc2-a31fd9bc4383
3. Andrew's GoFundMe: https://gofund.me/3c0bcf5b
4. Andrew's testimony podcast: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PJ6Wr7Jb-oo
Faithful followers, thank you for adding Andrew & Evelyn to your daily prayers. 🙏
Prayers for Andrew! Thanks for sharing this story!
ReplyDeleteThank you for praying, dear "daughter!"
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