The Desert Road

Friends, I've now been walking the post-college, real world road for just over a year now. I think if you're walking with me, at whatever length you've traveled, you know that it can indeed be lonely. That's not to say that there aren't good, kind people on the way — at work, at church, in your family... In fact, you might frequently interact with them and they easily knit their love into your days. And you most certainly don't take it for granted. 

But more than likely, you settle in some nights and feel like you're trudging through a desert. 

When you're in the "real world," it can feel like you've been flown to the middle of the barren dryness and forced to sky dive out of the plane by yourself. You free fall to the sand and land hard in a cloud of dust. You wiggle your way to stand up and brush yourself off, look around and can't see any sign of life for miles.

You shout loud, desperately inviting somebody to join you for this walk — and a coffee date, in the unlikely chance you might happen to find a cozy shop in the middle of the desert.

You most likely you can't hear anyone responding to your calls, so you walk. And walk. And walk. And walk until you pass over a sand dune and nearly run into another person who feels just as lost as you do. And you walk together, down that desert trail until you find that lone coffee shop. Over the mugs, you learn each others' hearts and you don't feel quite as alone.  

Friends, this life is lonely and maybe you're looking for your community. Know that others are wandering the desert too, and you will find them.

These days, I am grateful. Grateful for kind church people, for my camp people, and for my family. And somehow, I've nestled into a community called the Art Stew. We don't simply make art, we mail each other surprise packages. We make mugs that fit perfectly in hands. We send notes and words laced in love and encouragement. And with you're resting with your tribe, it seems like the desert road isn't so lonely anymore.