Are You Dried Up and Alone in the Desert?
Written by Marci Renée
Photo by Sayan Nath on Unsplash
The fountains had all dried up—one by one. Everyone was thirsty and looking for a drink of water, but there was none to be found. In Evan Turks’ “The Storyteller,” a drought had overtaken the dry desert land in North Africa.
A young, thirsty boy wandered the streets, desperately looking for water. “Our fountains have run dry,” the last water seller said.
Last year, at See Beyond, we conducted a “Needs and Desires” survey among those living overseas. The two greatest needs—in spite of age and marital status—were loneliness/isolation/friendship deficit and discouragement/difficulty/wearing down.
These needs reveal that some of our fountains may be running dry. Some of us are thirsty, searching for water to fill our cups. However, as we look around us and within us, there is no water to be found.
Do you feel dry in the area of loneliness or discouragement? Do you sometimes just wish you had a friend? If so, you are not alone.
I have—more than once—been in a place in my life where my fountain had run dry. I have been in seasons in my life when I could not find any water to drink. I felt alone and weary.
When I look back, I can only imagine how my life might have been different if I’d had someone to walk alongside of me, someone to bring me a drink of water.
Rabat, Morocco Photo by Niklas Schweinzer on Unsplash
Does it ever feel like you are living in a desert or in a remote mountain village with no deep connection to others? Do you sometimes long for someone to talk to, someone to listen to your story, someone to care for you, someone to walk alongside you in your journey? Do you ever just want a friend—a relationship—someone who will focus on you?
Maybe you wish that today someone would carry a jar of water up the steep, rugged mountain path to you. Perhaps you feel dried up and thirsty. You just need a drink of water.
You need refreshment.
Kairouan, Tunisia Photo by Srdjan Popovic on Unsplash
See Beyond has been offering refreshment to expats living in North Africa and other desert lands around the world since 2013 through our services of debriefing, coaching, training, and more. This has often been on an “as needed” basis.
Chefchaouen, Morocco Photo by Fabio Santaniello Bruun on Unsplash
Throughout the years, we have seen a greater need for individualized and regular Personalized Care. This care is built on an ongoing relationship with a See Beyond Personalized Care Provider—someone who walks alongside you in your journey, someone who gets to know you personally and who becomes a friend, someone who carries a jar of water to you in your dry and weary land.
“My Personalized Care clients have quickly become friends because of our regular, ongoing relationship. Each time is different, because each person is unique and individual. The packages are designed to meet the specific needs of the person right where they are—in their season of life, in their location, in their place of need.”
What about you—are you like the boy in the story who is looking everywhere for water?
“Our fountains have run dry,” the last water seller said. “But here, take one of my cups. If you find water, you can drink and share it with others.”
The thirsty boy took the brass cup from the man, and he searched and searched for water. One day, he met a man at the dried-up village fountain who led him to what would become a spring of water welling up within him to bring life to him and to all those around him.
Where can you find some refreshing water? Who can guide you there? What resources do you have?
See Beyond wants to come alongside you in your journey wherever you are—whether in a remote, mountainous village or in a big city. See Beyond wants to carry a drink of water to you in your dry and weary land.
Contact us for more information on our Personalized Care packages.
Guest author, Marci Renée, along with her French husband and four boys, is a global nomad who has traveled to more than 30 countries and has lived in the United States, France, Morocco, and Spain. She loves to travel, speak foreign languages, experience different cultures, eat ethnic foods, meet people from faraway lands, and of course, write and tell stories. She is a published author of children's picture books, memoirs, short stories, and poetry.
You can find Marci and her books on her website.
"The Cultural Story-Weaver," at www.culturalstoryweaver.com