Baca Valley

My life lived in the fast lane,
was rushed to have my way.
Desire I could not restrain,
Inured my soul’s decay.

In haste to pass the passe,
I forgot to seek God’s heart.
As I crashed in Baca Valley,
She tore my world apart.

Verdant valleys burnt to brown,
As desert’s hard scorched earth,
betrayed my utter lack of faith,
Parched in prayer-less dearth.

Baca fanned her flaming breath.
Her sun baked all my schemes.
She whispered warmly of my death,
And silenced all my dreams.

Stalled out in trackless arid waste,
My Mustang had slowed down.
Streaming tears ran down my face,
Till I knelt in muddy ground!

Then Baca smiled upon my way.
She flowered and began to bud.
Repentance broke my heart of clay,
And opened mercy’s sweet wet flood.

I’ve prospered here, a perfect fit,
Where no sane man would roam.
Freedom brought it, now I love it,
Baca is my home sweet home.

If you veer off the King’s highway,
From living like a madman,
If all your dreams get swept away,
In life’s swirling, shifting sand.

Remember me at home here,
I’m alive and doing well,
I’ve blossomed in a land,
Most folks say is burning hell.

“Blessed is the man whose strength is in you, in whose heart are the ways of them, who passing through the valley of Baca, make it a well; the rain also fills the pools. They go from strength to strength—every one of them in Zion appears before God.” Psalm 84:5-7