WITH A DEEP-THROATED RUMBLE, THE GEYSER ERUPTED. It had started to rain, and most of the crowd had already wandered away. The few faithful watchers cheered in appreciation. Later, when my husband and I returned to our truck—thoroughly soaked and absolutely elated—I realized I'd come to love many of the geysers in Yellowstone National Park, but this one was my favorite. To me, its cycle mirrors my own spiritual progress.
It's called "Great Fountain." Between eruptions, its center pool is usually empty, and the surrounding pools contain only a few inches of water. Over many hours the pool fills with water and then subsides. Next it fills to overflowing, bubbling violently. Finally, it shoots huge bursts of water skyward amid billowing steam clouds—sending waves splashing over the sides of the surrounding pools. It's truly majestic, and well worth the wait. What a lesson in faith, spiritual progress, and healing this beautiful geyser provides, because even when the pool appears empty, there's always activity underneath. And the result is sure.
Driving away took me back to a time when over a five year period, my life fell apart. My dear husband passed on, leaving me with substantial debt and no income. I returned to a high-pressure career that involved shift work, overtime, and dealing with crisis situations on a daily basis. My children married and moved away. Both my parents passed on. I was a lifelong Christian Scientist with firsthand experience of many healings, but at this point I was overcome with grief, anger, and self-will. You could say my "pool" was empty.
