![\"11811434_868865489860975_387063442258195528_n\"](\"https:\/\/wp-media.patheos.com\/blogs\/sites\/751\/2015\/07\/11811434_868865489860975_387063442258195528_n.jpg\")
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When I was a child, I never thought my parents would leave me. I always felt God would. Fundamentalism and hopelessness are irreparably fused together. When I stumbled upon piles of clothes in our house, I knew for sure that God took my parents and left me. On multiple occasions, I wept.<\/p>\n
\u00a0<\/p>\n
We started the hike behind a house. The desert is treacherous. Over and over, I felt the thorns press into my flesh. Pushing through, I was amazed at how disorienting the terrain grew. I had to pull out my phone multiple times just to see which direction we were going. Less than a mile in, we stumbled upon something left behind. The first backpack we encountered was black, muddy and torn to shreds. The pack once carried the hopes and dreams of a migrant. Were they able to unpack it before they left?<\/p>\n
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The mud got between my toes. I constantly looked out for snakes. I couldn\u2019t imagine doing this journey in the dark. The pile of clothes sent me spiraling. Why was there this pile of clothes in the middle of the desert? Migrants believe that changing into nicer clothes will make them look less suspicious when they enter the city. A group of about ten changed and left these clothes behind. What happened to them after they changed?<\/p>\n
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I noticed a black item in the bushes. In order to reduce detection from the air, water bottles are painted black. Did someone take a last drink from this container?<\/p>\n
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The three crosses stood out. Items of remembrance encircled them. What were the last words the family said to each other? How could an entire family die this close to a house? Our greed killed them. How could we be so heartless?<\/p>\n
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The revelation hit me.<\/p>\n
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Jesus came in the form of these migrants.<\/p>\n
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We let love die in the desert.<\/p>\n
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We left God behind.<\/p>\n
\u00a0<\/p>\n
Amen.<\/p>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
\u00a0 When I was a child, I never thought my parents would leave me. I always felt God would. Fundamentalism and hopelessness are irreparably fused together. When I stumbled upon piles of clothes in our house, I knew for sure that God took my parents and left me. On multiple occasions, I wept. \u00a0 We […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2509,"featured_media":3415,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3,10],"tags":[137,434,653,876,1390,1463,1533,1696,1810,1994,2358,2831,3574,3646,3739,3869,3881],"class_list":["post-3414","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-freshwritings","category-thoughts","tag-air","tag-bottle","tag-clothes","tag-desert","tag-god","tag-greed","tag-heartless","tag-immigration","tag-jesus","tag-left-behind","tag-mud","tag-queer","tag-the-revelation-in-the-desert","tag-three-crosses","tag-undocumented","tag-we-left-god-behind","tag-wept"],"yoast_head":"\n
The Revelation in the Desert<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\" When I was a child, I never thought my parents would leave me. I always felt God would. Fundamentalism and hopelessness are irreparably fused\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/jeffhood\/the-revelation-in-the-desert\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"The Revelation in the Desert\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\" When I was a child, I never thought my parents would leave me. I always felt God would. Fundamentalism and hopelessness are irreparably fused\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/jeffhood\/the-revelation-in-the-desert\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Jeff Hood\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2015-07-31T17:50:47+00:00\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Jeff Hood\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Jeff Hood\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"2 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/jeffhood\/the-revelation-in-the-desert\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/jeffhood\/the-revelation-in-the-desert\/\",\"name\":\"The Revelation in the Desert\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/jeffhood\/#website\"},\"datePublished\":\"2015-07-31T17:50:47+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2015-07-31T17:50:47+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/jeffhood\/#\/schema\/person\/7520c1e5a6c2879d78536396c58007de\"},\"description\":\" When I was a child, I never thought my parents would leave me. 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Dr. Jeff Hood is a Catholic priest (Old Catholic), theologian, and nationally recognized activist based in North Little Rock, Arkansas. A spiritual advisor to death row inmates across the country, Dr. Hood has accompanied more people to their executions than any other advisor in the U.S., including the first-ever nitrogen hypoxia execution in 2024. His work sits at the intersection of justice, radical compassion, and public theology. Dr. Hood holds advanced degrees from Auburn, Emory, Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, University of Alabama, Creighton, and Brite Divinity School, among others. He also earned a PhD in metaphysical theology and founded The New Theology School, where he serves as Dean and Professor of Prophetic Theology. Author of over 100 books\u2014including the award-winning The Courage to Be Queer\u2014Dr. Hood\u2019s writings and activism have been featured in The New York Times, Rolling Stone, NPR, CNN, and more. 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