An Oasis of Love

Gina stood at her back door staring out at her yard. Her once beautiful garden of lush flowers and greenery now resemble a storm-tossed desert. It had taken her years of loving care tending the plants for them to grow into their fullest potential. Her delicate orchids and roses in a rainbow array of colors were decimated. Her lush green bushes were barren of their leaves and appeared to be dying. The years long continuing drought had made her yard a sandy pit and it didn’t appear to be getting any better. Now it appeared that a series of rain storms were imminent and would make the yard even worse.

The yard resembled her life at the moment. After years of devotion to her job, the business had been sold and she had been fired by the new owners. She wasn’t old enough for retirement and her job skills needed updating. Her husband had walked away from their marriage ten years ago leaving her with a small daughter to rear at that time. Her daughter was now married and living in London, England with her new husband. The rest of her family____ her parents, siblings and their spouses____ lived several states away. She felt isolated and alone. She gave a deep sigh as she closed the door and walked into her den, taking a seat in her favorite recliner letting it back and closing her eyes against the current chaos of her world. She drifted off to sleep, something she hadn’t been able to do for several nights.

“Why haven’t you prayed about this?!”, she heard a voice inquire. It startled her as she opened her eyes to see her beloved grandmother. It couldn’t be, Nana Belle had passed away some years ago.

“Nana Belle?!”, Gina said in confusion as she realized that she was no longer in her den, but was standing in a desert with nothing but miles and miles of sand in sight.

“Yes, Gina dear. I heard your call for help”, Nana Belle replied.

“You heard my call?! Where are we?!”, Gina asked as she turned in a circle looking for some sign of direction as to where they could be.

“We’re in the desert of your mind at the moment. A place where you have put yourself with your thoughts of self-pity, lack and limitation”, Nana Belle explained to her.

“Nana, my situation is almost hopeless!” Gina wailed as tears came to her eyes and rolled down her cheeks.

“Almost, you say. Meaning you haven’t completely given up hope,” Nana Belle stated to her.

“Well, no, but I need to find a job. I’m up against better educated and much younger people in this job market,” she said to her grandmother with a shake of her head.

“So, all your experience and expertise in difficult situations and conditions you believe counts for nothing,” Nana Belle commented as she turned and began to walk further into the desert.

“It’s a different world from when I started working years ago!” Gina told her as she hurriedly followed her grandmother afraid to be alone in the desolate desert of her own mind.

“Your world has changed constantly over the years. Your husband walked away from you and your daughter, but you prayed and moved on buying a home for the two of you that he had been too afraid to do. You then gave your daughter a first-class education and a beautiful wedding both of which you were afraid that you couldn’t do. Yet, you prayed, put your faith in Spirit and got it done,” Nana Belle told her as they walked.

“I had to do those things! I had to do my best for my daughter. I knew that God wouldn’t let me down because I loved her!”, Gina expressed to her.

“Now, this is about you and only you. So why haven’t you prayed for God to assist you?”, Nana Belle inquired as she continued to walk.

“Pray for me?! That seems so selfish!”, Gina replied becoming afraid that they might be getting lost.

“You’re saying that Spirit will only answer your prayers when its for the good of others, but that you’re not worthy of God’s goodness for yourself?”, Nana Belle posed the question to her.

Gina stared at her grandmother in shock. “Of course, I’m worthy of God’s goodness!”, Gina said adamantly.

“Then pray! Pray right here and right now!”, Nana Belle ordered.

Gina stared at her for a moment, then taking a deep breath, she began to pray in the manner that she been taught at her spiritual center. With her eyes closed, she prayed from her heart. When she finished her prayer, she opened her eyes. She looked around in surprise. Nana Belle was gone, but she was standing in a lush oasis of beautiful palm trees; a pool of cool, shimmering blue water; and a huge tent with plush couches offering shade from the heat of the desert. She began giving grateful thanks.

The sound of knocking at her door woke her abruptly from her nap. She was disoriented for several moments before she rose and hurried to her front door. She opened the door to find a messenger service delivery person with a letter for her. She took the letter and thanked him. She opened the letter as she walked back to her chair in the den. She took a seat as she read the letter. She couldn’t believe her eyes. She read it again and began to giggle. The letter was from the owner of the company that had been the major competitor of her former employer. They were offering her a job that was a better position with a considerable raise in pay than she had previously been paid by her former employers. The oasis of her real-life desert had manifested for her. She blew a kiss to Nana Belle’s picture on the fireplace mantle. She would never again just pray for others alone, but also for herself. She realized that she couldn’t give love and abundance to others from her heart unless her own heart was filled with love and abundance for herself.