Desert Days

THE DESERT PEARL The sand-brown desert pearl symbolizes boredom and adversity.

The sand-brown desert pearl symbolizes boredom and adversity. Right now it can feel like an endless desert. We are in a time full of adversity that we can not see the end of. You have no strength, no desire, no one to talk to, no one hang out with. The outside world seems barren, desolate, and fruitless. No one can completely avoid the deserts of life. Sooner or later they will come, but we can practice meeting them and staying in them.

Desert time can help us distinguish the important from the unimportant. When we leave the desert behind, we often discover that adversity has taught us something. We can lean on God, trust that there is an end. When you get lost, when you are tired, when you are afraid, Jesus wants to help you. He says, “Believe in me. Something new is coming, something else beyond what we can now see.”

To do

For children:

Ask an adult to hide things in a sandbox. Look for toys that an adult has hidden. Rejoice when they are found.

Clean up. Maybe it's a little boring, but see how clean and nice it is when you are done. Maybe you found something that has been missing?

For adults:

Think of the past desert times in your life. What were those like? How did you make it through?

Do something you have postponed for a long time to be able to check off it on your list. For example, clean that window that has been bothering you for a long time, or clear that pile of papers.

Footprints in the sand...

One night a man had a dream.

He dreamed that he was walking along a beach with God.

In the sky, events from his life suddenly appeared.

He noticed that at every period of life, there were tracks in the sand of two pairs of feet, one was his the other was God's. When the last part of his life appeared, he looked back at the footprints in the sand. Then he saw that many times during the walk of his life, there were only a few footprints.

He also noticed that this happened, during his most lonely and difficult periods of his life. This really worried him and he asked God:

"You said the time I decided to follow you, that you would never abandon me, but walk by my side all the way. But I have noticed that during the most difficult times of my life, there have been only a few footprints. I can not understand that you left me, when I needed you most." God answered:

"My dear child, I love you and would never leave you in times of trial and suffering. When you saw only a few footprints - that's when I carried you." (author unknown)

[This teaching comes from Svenskakyrkan.se.]