Irrigating Deserts

When I first moved to Arizona from Boise, Idaho, I have to admit that I was a bit disappointed. All I viewed around me was dry dirt, scrub brush, saguaros (the only cactus with which I was familiar), and other thorny threats. Where were the trees? The grass? The GREEN?! I was, in fact, not just disappointed, but heartsick. In my opinion, the desert was barren and desolate, devoid of any beauty.

However, a few months after the move, the rains came and brought a miracle. The cacti sprouted flowers! Proud pink or yellow blooms along the edges of the prickly pear, bright orange fringes shooting from the ocotillo, white blossoms on a stately saguaro. The little bit of water in the desert brought forth an assemblage of artistic beauty.

In C.S. Lewis’ book, The Abolition of Man, he asserts that, “The task of the modern educator is not to cut down jungles, but to irrigate deserts.” It seems that the purpose of education today is to tear down the lush foliage of our children’s minds and hearts, and to replace it with infertile, utilitarian machines. Perhaps educators want to graft a piece from a poisonous plant into a thriving vine to create fruit that is bitter and diseased. Or worse yet, they reshape a boxwood shrub, attach fruit to it, and call it a raspberry bush.

Rather, educators should “irrigate deserts.” We should flood the waiting ground with the water of stories and knowledge, of truth and song, of art and numbers, of words and ideas. Then, just as the flowers bloom on the arid ground in Arizona, we will watch our children’s minds and hearts grow in a love for learning, a desire for what is true, good, and beautiful. We will need to tend our newly grown garden, adding mulch and fertilizer to keep the fauna healthy, pulling weeds and pruning here and there. But if we’re patient and attentive, we will witness the formation of an abundant paradise.

Caritas is dedicated to following the Gardener and tending to His delicate, tender shoots. Please pray for our staff and families as we work in His garden to His glory.