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The Sandbar

Writer's picture: tamimcquoidtamimcquoid


I, like many of you, have been in a struggling match lately. I have struggled to find truth. I have struggled to find joy and I have wrestled with anxiety as the world around us has been churning and groaning. 


I have listened to some news, some podcasts, some FaceBook lives, some sermons- and frankly lots of passionate opinions. I have felt the range of emotions from anger to compassion from fear to faith.

I have heard the loud roar coming from all directions that say, “If you are not saying something you are complacent and letting others write your narrative.”

And so I’ve tried to swim in the deep waters, through all the information. Knowing I needed to find MY voice, to do MY research.


And so off I went...Researching, listening, reading, discussing and asking. Swimming as one looking for a sandbar to stand on. To rest my tired hands that have been frantically grasping, desperately looking for truth. I have wanted something to hold onto and raise above by head and shout to the world confidently and proudly, “THIS IS IT!” 

My scientifically-sound, relevant, biblical, compassionate and unbiased truth. “That thing” that had my personal stamp of approval on it. 


I would talk to one dear friend and after hearing their heart I would feel pulled to agree. And then I would speak with another respected individual who would be in opposition and I would tend to understand their point also. 


And one day I heard this, “Who do you think you are?” and I realized that both heaven and hell were asking that exact question. I realized that THAT is the question I need to be asking in this hour. Not WHAT do I believe, but WHO do I believe I am, and that will naturally answer the question of WHAT I do.


Finding truth surrounding current events is important, but what is more important is KNOWING who I am right now. Many of us are called to publicly take bold stands. If you are one, RISE UP AND GO! If you are not, find out what is in your hand. This is non-negotiable. We all have something in our hand. 


Recently, I had a zoom phone call with some friends. We were all wrestling with the current issues. We decided to spend the remainder of the call speaking into the ROLE & POSITION we see each other called to take in this next season.


One friend of mine is to distill and disseminate important truth related to current events so all can understand. One is to hear the cries of a younger generation and help them process it all in relation to God’s heartbeat. One is to walk in her ministry of hugs and love as a fierce lover of all people.  Another is to bring hope and encouragement into her sphere of influence by her gift of communication. I am to continue to gather people, and speak identity into the hearts of the weary.


“There are different kinds of gifts. But they are all given to believers by the same Spirit. There are different ways to serve. But they all come from the same Lord. There are different ways the Spirit works. But the same God is working in all these ways and in all people.The Holy Spirit is given to each of us in a special way. That is for the good of all.

There is one body, but it has many parts. But all its many parts make up one body. It is the same with Christ. We were all baptized by one Holy Spirit. And so we are formed into one body. It didn’t matter whether we were Jews or Gentiles, slaves or free people. We were all given the same Spirit to drink. So the body is not made up of just one part. It has many parts.”

1 Corinthians 13: 4-7, 12-14


I am beginning to understand that at this point in history, group-think mentality is not helping us. We need to find WHO we are after we identify WHOSE we are. When we know what kind of heavenly weapon God has uniquely given us we WILL be effective against the battle raging.


“Our fight is not against human beings. It is against the rulers, the authorities and the powers of this dark world. It is against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly world.” Ephesian 6:12


We recently watched the movie “Voyage of the Dawn Treader” a movie crafted from one of the books from the C.S. Lewis book series, The Chronicles of Narnia.

Lately, I have not been able to get a certain scene out of my mind. If you have seen the movie, you will remember the green fog that was the most difficult of all to voyage through. The reason that it was so dangerous was that it would seduce people in the specific ways they were more likely to fall into temptation. So, if you struggled with greediness, you would be offered the wealth of the world. If you struggled with a lust for power you would be seduced into thinking you could attain the position of the most powerful person in the kingdom. One character, Lucy, believed she wasn’t beautiful and wished she was more like her sister, Susan, thus succumbing to the temptation of jealousy and thus disqualifying the impactful things she had personally accomplished in her life.


I do believe that in our world right now the green fog is pretty thick and we are all feeling tempted to succumb to our weaknesses. 


We must stay far away from being prideful because we don’t struggle with what our neighbor does. We need to remember that we are all dealing with the green fog in our world right now. But we KNOW WHO HAS OVERCOME THE WORLD!


“The one who is in you is powerful. He is more powerful than the one who is in the world.” 1 John 4:4


Do you tend to struggle with Pride? Envy? Lust? Fear? Gluttony? Anger? Greed? Laziness? These are just a few typical and common pitfalls we can find ourselves tempted by.


I know I can find myself fearful which can lead to anger and at times pride. When I turn towards JESUS and HIS truth and humble myself I find hope, peace and clarity once again.


I want to end this post with a story that the Lord brings to my attention time and time again. It is about my Grandma Brown who passed away about 18 years ago. She was a passionate woman, verbally bold and unafraid to speak the truth loudly to all who would give her an ear. 


The thought she left us with as she lie on her death bed, the last words to leave her mouth before her last breath, “Always remember...It’s all about love!”


Let us lead strongly planted in our IDENTITY and AWARE of OUR UNIQUE gifts. We will not all LOOK the same, but we will be led by the SAME spirit. Let us encourage and SPEAK words of life as we go forward as one unified body in LOVE.


That, my friends, is the one thing that the green fog has no power against. And if you see a girl standing in the middle of a lake on a sandbar, waving a piece of paper above her head it may just be me. Feel free to come over and say hi.



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