Joshua Tree.  It's a beautiful place, an idyll of sand, sagebrush, rocks, and cacti in the Southern California desert.   Spreading across thousands of acres that ebb and flow into the vast and arid lands of the remotest areas of the Southwest, Joshua Tree is home to one of the most remarkable trees on the planet:  the Joshua Tree.  Looking partly like a child's rendering, partly like a Dr. Seuss drawing, and partly like a dream of Carlos Casteneda (he of peyote adventure and journey with the sage Don Juan), the Joshua Tree speaks volumes about the amazing diversity--and seeming silliness--of the creation.  Why do we need such an unusual looking tree to round out our ecological vision?

     That, however, is the point.  The Joshua Tree reminds us that we cannot measure worth by ourselves, that we stumble when we suppose that we are the standard by which all things find value.  Who needs the Joshua Tree?  On the one hand, no one.  On the other hand, everyone.
     Without the Joshua Tree, we are stumbling in the dark.
     And so is God.