There among shifting dunes and the perilous rocks
Old Moses learned to subsist and tend to smelly flocks
And here in this place made of a pure paradox
He found a place he could stand
There in the seminary made of sand
For his own good Moe was placed on the shelf
There he learned to tend sheep, and he put to death self
He gave up positions and gave up his wealth
And when all that was familiar was banned
Was transformed by that seminary made out of sand
Like Moses, we sojourn in our own wilderness
And the cursed obstacles, we learn how to bless
This way is not easy. It’s hard, we confess.
For we’re not trained to meet its demands
We’re redeemed in that seminary made out of sand
Bridge
You saw me and bought me and brought me to this
And taught me the lessons couldn’t dare miss
Here in this desert wilderness’ backside,
Will bring death to ego and decimate pride
And you yield when ambition has died
The backside of the desert is a sanctified school
It signals the wise, and it upbraids the fool
Where lonely’s the status and danger the rule
It’s a dry and a wild weary land
There in the seminary of the sand
The best of all lessons surely are learned
Beyond circumstances for which you’ve yearned
They may come from sources you formerly spurned
It’s not what you hoped and it’s not what you planned
Here in this seminary made of sand
Life’s lessons are learned in the most obscure places
When you take that right turn and those about faces
When you feel you’ve been burned, but it’s really God’s graces
You can sense the invisible hand
When you’re in that seminary made of sand
July 22, 2026
Anthony Foster
