Welcome! Just a quick little intro so we can be friends faster before we dive in…

My name is Tara. (Most people call me T.) I am the author of Finding Everyday Fruit and Waiting On Wonders, and a contributing author to the 30-Day Devotional, Chosen. I couldn’t be happier that you’ve chosen to read what I’m putting into the world. I pour out my words here every week, and if you enjoy them, I’d love for you to leave a comment, restack/share with friends, or add a little heart to let me know it resonated with you.

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Two weeks ago, my husband and I were in Arizona visiting with a doctor who specializes in concussion/TBI recovery. (Thank you, !) Neither of us had ever been to Arizona, and while we were there to get help, we also were there to see as much of that part of the world as we could between doctor visits and recovery rest.

I graduated from college only a few hours short of a minor in Geology and Earth Sciences, so as you can imagine, I was fascinated. Arizona did not disappoint. It couldn’t be more opposite in landscape from our lowcountry, water-logged, everything-is-green-and-growing home, but it was beautiful in its own right, nonetheless.

One of the things I really fell in love with (outside of saguaro cacti, which, y’all, grow for 200 YEARS before they ever shoot out arms—INCREDIBLE) was the desert. The rocky, inhospitable landscape was so intriguing to me. There were only a few types of plants that thrived there, but mainly it was arid, dry, and desolate.

This reminded me of a chapter from Waiting on Wonders called “God’s Classroom.” For those of you who haven’t read it (WAIT—you exist?! ◡̈), I’m going to share it here for you to enjoy. If you have already read it, I’d encourage you to read it again and let the Lord speak to you in a fresh way in your circumstances today.

-TLB

GOD’S CLASSROOM“So I brought them out of Egypt and led them into the wilderness.” Ezekiel 20:10 (NLT)

Several years ago, I had the opportunity to visit Israel and go into the Zin Wilderness. Growing up in America and having never seen the Middle East, I imagined the “wilderness” as desolate, as depicted in every Moses movie.

Yes, there were areas of arid desert, but there were also areas of tropical oasis. There were high, treacherous cliffs, impassable mountains, streams, and hidden pools of water.

While in Israel, I learned that the wilderness doesn’t always look the way you think it will, and how it’s like that in our own lives as well. We don’t always recognize when we’re entering a lonely, wandering, wilderness season or when we’ve been sent there to learn something challenging.

Sometimes, it is completely obvious. You see it over the horizon, and you know, yep. It’s coming. You steel yourself and walk right into the necessary season. Other times, the wilderness arrives at your doorstep. Bam. And you’re in.

Most often, however, the days of the desert come slowly.

You’re walking along in life, and one grain of sand at a time, the wilderness takes up residence in your heart. Then, one day, you wake up, rub your bone-dry eyes, and realize you’re in the middle of a dry and desolate season and don’t remember the path that brought you there.

I wonder if the children of Israel felt that way. Even in their complaining, do you think as they wandered the desert, they asked themselves in private moments, “How did we get here...really? How did we get to the place where we were so excited to be liberated, and now we can’t stop complaining?”

Had they not seen God be faithful? Had they not experienced His rescue? Had they not lived miracles?

Are they not so different from us?

We are liberated from our own Egypts, and then, within earshot of the oppression, we are found complaining in the desert, wandering in the wilderness, unaware of how the journey unfolded. We find ourselves trying to be the provider, trying to be a fixer-of-all-things, instead of relying on the one who brought us there.

Be very clear. He hasn’t left us there. He’s leading us there.

My friend, Marc Turnage, says the wilderness is God’s classroom. (1) There is always discipline in the dust.

The Hebrew name for the book of Numbers is “in the wilderness.” It is full of specifics on how things should be ordered and how life should happen. It’s also a story of how things go awry, and ultimately, it’s a tale of you and me.

Numbers is an aptly named account of the history that still camps out in our veins, the discounted details, and the slow drift. Over and over.

However, the thing to remember is that the Lord provided a way out. And the same will be true for us. No matter how long we’ve been wandering, no matter how much complaining we’ve done, and the ways we’ve forgotten His faithfulness, He will split the Jordan of our circumstances to bring us into the promised land of all He has for us. It’s the wonder of the wilderness.

✨ HOW WE WAIT TODAY

Wilderness seasons are meant to teach us, so I try not to despise the dry-desert times. God guides us to them—sometimes quite abruptly—sometimes very slowly, but always for our own good. And although it seems dry in the waiting, there is an oasis and a way out—every time.

It’s a beautiful gift to walk with the Lord in the dry times. As we do, we gather the dust of that experience on our feet all along the journey. Then, we can take what we’ve learned and walk with that knowledge right up to the high places of flourishing. The dust we carry on our feet will help us remember the journey. It will be a monument to the moment He took us in...and when He brought us out.

(1) Turnage, Marc, Windows into the Bible: Cultural and Historical Insights from the Bible for Modern Readers (Springfield, Missouri: Logion Press, 2016), 31.

It’s not too late to be thinking about Christmas and holiday gift giving. “Waiting on Wonders” and “Finding Everyday Fruit” would make incredible gifts for just about everyone on your list. (Maybe not for me, but hey, if you want to give me a copy of my own book, I’ll be honored. ◡̈ ) Click those links above and get your shop on.

I hope this little story reminds you that He always wants to teach you and point your heart toward His (even through stories about the desert) and that His presence and the fruit of a Spirit-filled life are available to you if you’re willing to raise your awareness to them.

Where are you finding the fruit of His Spirit today? What everyday moment will you allow Him to use to share the wonder of His presence?

Much love,

-TLB

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