Sandcastles in the Desert Season of Life
Deadly viruses and economic struggles have stranded us in a wasteland which seems endless. We hike up one dune of hope for a better tomorrow only to find another sea of bleak, dry circumstances stretching ahead. This season of unrest and suffering has worn us out. We’re far beyond a time of thirsting for relief. Many of us have grown to weary to hope for anything better.
Waiting for rescue. Searching for a new start. Anticipating the end of rising food costs and plummeting income. We can only hold onto expectations and remain motivated for so long. The past months have taken their toll and we’ve had enough of limbo. Straining to see past the next sand dune has left us with a headache and nearly sun-blinded squinting. We realize the futility of trying to see past the next sand dune or put all our hope in the latest mirage.
Because, after all, no one really lives in tomorrow. Our hope might not look the way we expected when we reach the other side of today. We live in this moment. And our life is either made or missed in the sand at our feet now.
When we’re stuck in the desert, we can perish from despair or make the dunes into sandcastles. The greatest hardships may hold opportunities. If we don’t apply our creativity and potential to the situations at our feet, we’ll miss the means to bless others. We cannot see resources or needs when we’ve dismissed our today’s with complaint and put all our dreams on rescues from tomorrow. If we identify the sand as an asset, we could instead shape our circumstances into shelter for others and ourselves.
Three steps help us build sandcastles in our desert. Each seems simple, but entails great creativity, intent, and effort.
1. Identify the needs around you.
2. Identify your resources, no matter how sand-grain common or small.
3. Pray and think creatively about how you can build shelters for others with the sand at your feet. How could you use what you have to create relief and blessings?
These three steps take us miles from despair and guide us toward a cool place to enjoy for a moment. We might need to brainstorm with wise friends during this season when our motivation and creativity run low. For the shared dreamers garner the greatest power of imagination and productivity of all. When several with mustard seed-sized faith and hope gather in prayerful support of one another, miracles grow.
Sometimes the rescue of those languishing in the desert need not wait for the sand dunes to cease. God works miracles for his people through the hands of his servants. In the midst of the desert.
Exodus teaches us how God provides during our journeys through the desert, not just after we arrive in a promised land. Jesus later taught us how the Lord can take our meager supplies and multiply them to feed multitudes in the isolated places (Mark 6: 30-44).
Pray about the thirsts around you and listen for those specific needs which the Lord impresses upon your spirit. Ask God to help you identify your resources and how to apply them. Trust the Lord to multiply the blessings of your sandcastles in the desert.
Feel free to view a full library of encouraging devotional videos now available on my YouTube channel.
If you’d like more tips on how to optimize your life and recover from this crisis, please join us for the upcoming virtual conference, Rebound Your Highest: Come Back Stronger After the Struggle.
And if you’re facing challenges with homeschooling, take advantage of the Savvy Homeschooler, an upcoming virtual event to equip parents for success.
I’m here and willing to pray for you. I’d also love to hear about your “sandcastle building” moments during this season. Please share them with us!
Be Encouraged,
Tina
