Something about it cleanses the soul.

The very core, the nano-kernel of your being -- of your essence.

Sure you want to feel clean, especially if you aren't.

Well . . . there is nothing like fast water to do it -- either by getting in it somehow, or just watching it. Sometimes that's all it takes, just watching it.

My wife, Bonnie, and I were on a tent-camping trip in Yosemite National Park. I had been there several times in my life. She hadn't. This was her first time.

Something about this place takes your breath away. You drive up highway 41 to the Wawona entrance. Finally after the long drive up the mountain, you come to the entrance of Yosemite Valley.

Breathtaking!

We finagled our way to the North end of the valley where the Merced river pours into its bottom. We climbed a ways and discovered a place where there were no other campers or tourists. Flat, granite rocks slope down to green and white water sizzling, raging and bone-chilling cold, as it fell from the heights of the Sierras.

I gazed at this fast water and lusted.

I wanted to get in it.

I needed to get in it.

I had no swimsuit with me, so since there were no people around, I stripped down to my boxer shorts and waded into this crazy, fluid maelstrom. I found a rock that had formed itself into a seat where I could sit and dangle my legs in the water.

But that wasn’t enough.

I wanted to be swallowed up by the current. I itched to be eaten alive by it.

Have you ever felt an urge that strong? There were two smaller boulders through which the water sluiced madly. I made my way toward them. The force of the rushing thigh-deep water was powerful and compelling. To my surprise, when I got there, two sharply pointed rocks protruded from the bottom of the river, but not tall enough to break the surface, so you didn't know they were there until you felt them.

Amazing phenomenon, or occurrence, or whatever you want to call it. It seemed as though God placed them there for me to do my thing. Resisting the surge of the water, I bent over and grabbed each rock with each hand. I held on like I was hanging from a mile-high cliff. The force of the water flattened my body out so that it fluttered and snapped like a flag in the wind.

Words fail me.

I cannot describe the sensation, the joy, the feeling of cleansing, the feeling of accomplishment. It was overload with mental, emotional, throbbing, sensory pleasure.

By now you've noticed the graphic of a waterfall and rapids that introduced this section. I think it is probable that my experience in Yosemite and the Merced had something to do with my choice of this pic.

But there is something else.

I get a similar sensation when I bury myself in the writ of sacred Scripture.

This shoudn't surprise either -- owing to the fact of what Paul said to the Ephesian church: "That he (Jesus) might sanctify her (his body of followers), having cleansed her by the washing of water with the word."

This experience is introduced by revisiting the Garden of Eden where, ostensibly, God was in the habit of walking in the garden with Adam, perhaps enjoying the day, and an exchange of words and thoughts -- except after Satan's encounter with Eve; that's when the dialogue became a bit testy.

In any case, you are invited to plunge into the raging current of the Word of God. Hopefully, you will not only find it cleansing, but maybe engender some deep conversations with God.

You would like that , , , wouldn't you?

So, if you are looking for a stimulating, spiritual overload, you just may find it here in this "Garden of Grace."

There are FOUR PATHS to enjoy:

Words from the Master Psalms of Grace Letters of Love Voices from the Scriptures