By Carla Long, Presiding Bishopric

Therefore, continue to be strong in faith. To you who hear my voice and know my promises I will reveal myself and give my peace, even in the midst of your uncertainties.

There have been many times in my life when I have been in the wilderness, though I rarely recognized it in the moment. It was only in looking back that I could see how lost and wandering I truly was.

The most wilderness time of my life came while I was living in beautiful Northern California. I loved being there—the non-weather (warm and sunny every day!), seeing beautiful places (constantly!), and loving the church work I was doing (I learned SO much!). Yet I was lonely. Relationships I had long depended on were shifting. Friends were moving away or getting married; hoped-for partnerships were not working out. I began to realize I wasn’t just wandering—I was losing hope.

I’m not sure what precipitated it, but a wake-up moment came. As I sank deeper into despair, I became aware of how inwardly focused I had become. My attention was entirely fixed on my own pain. I measured every situation by how it affected me, holding tightly to being a victim. I only looked down and inward, never up and out. This is a form of scarcity thinking—a belief that there isn’t enough love, enough connection, enough future. Scarcity thrives on hopelessness.

Scarcity thinking moves us to try to control every aspect of our lives because it cannot trust in God’s abundance. It struggles to release what it cannot control. Scarcity cannot see past me, me, me. It ultimately leads toward isolation and death. Abundance opens the way to renewal and resurrection. Abundance is communal by nature. It invites us to trust in God’s provision in ways that nurture our own souls but also in ways that contribute to the flourishing of all creation.

Letting go and letting God did not happen quickly or easily. It required deep soul-searching and a willingness to loosen my grip on self-preoccupation, on the comfort of being right, and on the desire to control outcomes. Slowly, I began to find my way through the wilderness, and it was a way of light, love, laughter, and joy. What emerged was not the abundance I had tried to create on my own, but something far richer. God’s abundant love easily fills the emptiness of our souls. It does so with generosity, kindness, compassion, and, of course, with love.

Prayer Phrase

“Happy are those who observe justice” (Psalm 106:3).

Healing and Reconciliation

Gather a small mound of stones. Meditate on the stones as symbols of differences and destructive acts that continue to separate and wound the human family. Name and anoint each “stone wound” with a drop of water or scented oil. Offer them to God in a prayer for healing and reconciliation.

Today’s Prayer for Peace

Engage in a daily practice of praying for peace in our world. Click here to read today’s prayer and be part of this practice of peace.