During my years of living in Alice Springs I was gifted with a deep connection to the presence of God in the land.

For me God’s presence was palpable.

Daily I could sense it in the sounds of the flurry of beating wings of flocks of budgies as they swirled and swooped through the warm air above the desert. Felt in the wind against my sweaty skin or in the textures of the sand that I sat on in dry river beds, the rocks that I climbed in the ranges spreading east and west from town, and in the trees and shrubs that I walked through daily on the trails around where I lived. Smelt in the gum leaves crushed under foot, the scent of honey rich native flowers and the sun baking on the dry ancient soils. Seen in the stark contrasts of the iron rich, red rocks and soils standing stark against the turquoise skies and interspersed with the white trunked ghost gums, topped by their canopy of muted green leaves as they lined the dry creek beds that meander throughout the centre of Australia.  Tasted in the bitterness of bush tomatoes and in the sweetness of smoky billy tea freshly made on a campfire.

All my senses called to be alert to God’s presence in this sacred land.

12/12/14 Victoria, Australia