Have you ever wondered how to rebuild your life after everything falls apart? Whether it’s the loss of a loved one, a broken relationship, or an unexpected crisis, starting over can feel impossible. But what if God’s process for creation holds the key to navigating the chaos and finding new beginnings?
On this week’s episode of The Love Offering podcast, I had the privilege of interviewing Dawn Sanders, author of When Your World Ends: God’s Creative Process for Rebuilding a Life. After experiencing the heartbreak of divorce and the sudden death of her second husband, Dawn discovered a buried treasure in Genesis 1—a seven-step process God uses to bring new life out of chaos.
Dawn shares her inspiring story of loss and renewal in our conversation, offering wisdom, authenticity, and hope for those navigating their rebuilding seasons. Together, we explore:
- How God’s creation story reveals His plan for renewal in our lives
- The seven steps God uses to transform chaos into beauty
- Practical ways to trust God’s process and find hope after devastating loss
Whether you’re experiencing heartbreak or simply seeking encouragement in a challenging season, this episode will remind you of God’s faithfulness and His power to create something new out of even the darkest moments.
Listen to the episode now: https://www.lifeaudio.com/the-love-offering/
Summary
In this episode of the Love Offering Podcast, host Rachael Adams interviews Dawn Sanders about her book, ‘When Your World Ends: God’s Creative Process for Rebuilding a Life.’ Dawn shares her personal story of losing her husband and how she found hope and began to rebuild her life. She discusses the seven-step process she developed, which mirrors God’s methods of bringing order from chaos. The steps include remaining connected to God, seizing the moment, creating breathing space, sowing productive seeds in fertile soil, shining your light at the right time, engaging and embodying the help, and playing your role. Dawn encourages listeners to have hope, be patient with themselves, and embrace God’s help and blessings.
Takeaways
Loss and trauma can make us feel like our world has ended, but it’s important to remember that it hasn’t. There is hope for the future.
Remaining connected to God and embracing His vision is key to rebuilding and finding joy and purpose.
The process of rebuilding is not fast or easy. It takes time, patience, and grace.
God blesses us abundantly and wants us to embrace His blessings and not limit ourselves.
We have the power to join God in creating our lives and to make choices that lead to healing and growth.
We are not meant to go through the rebuilding process alone. God provides help and support through relationships with others.
Love and friendship can continue even after the loss of a loved one. Our relationships can bear fruit and bring joy.
The journey of rebuilding is not linear. There will be hills and valleys, but God is always with us and guiding us.
It’s important to play our unique role in God’s kingdom and to trust that He has a purpose and plan for our lives.
Chapters
00:00 Introduction and Background
03:00 Step 1: Remaining Connected to God
08:58 Step 2: Seizing the Moment
13:46 Step 3: Creating Space to Breathe
19:15 Step 4: Sowing Productive Seeds in Fertile Soil
25:54 Step 5: Shining Your Light at the Right Time
29:39 Step 6: Engaging and Embodying the Help
33:34 Step 7: Playing Your Role
36:34 Encouragement and Hope
44:12 Conclusion and Prayer
Transcript
Rachael Adams (00:01.481)
Well, hello, Dawn, and welcome to the Love Offering Podcast. I’m so happy to have
Dawn Sanders (00:07.438)
I’m so happy to be here, Rachel. Thanks for having me.
Rachael Adams (00:11.049)
So I’m trying to think about how we first connected, but we’ve collaborated quite a bit and recently met in person at the Speak Up Conference, which was such a treat. You shared your new book idea, and as soon as you shared it, I had goosebumps all over, and I just felt like this. I’m like, I have to have you on the show. I cannot wait to hear from you. If listeners don’t know you, I know they’ll love you. And so today, we’re talking about God’s creative process for rebuilding a life when your world ends. And so I would love for you, just as we begin to tell the backstory of this book, about when your world felt like it was ending. And we’re starting heavy, but why start with fluff, right?
Dawn Sanders (00:54.606)
Right. Well, I had had a series of unproductive relationships. And I was in my 40s, and I met my husband, the man of my dreams, in a church doctrine class at our place of worship. And we got married two years later. A year into our marriage, we started trying to have a family. And instead of that dream being realized, we had two consecutive miscarriages six months apart. And then six weeks after that, I lost my husband to a massive heart attack suddenly.
Rachael Adams (01:46.815)
So you didn’t get to be with him long.
Dawn Sanders (01:50.218)
Now, two years, two months, and two
Rachael Adams (01:55.35)
And so, how long has it been since he’s passed away now?
Dawn Sanders (01:59.598)
It’s been a little over 13 years. In June, it was 13 years.
Rachael Adams (02:05.481)
So, at what point did you realize that even though it felt like your world ended, it didn’t? It hadn’t ended. You’re still here. You’re still breathing. And so you started to rebuild. At what point did you kind of have that mindset shift? Like, OK, I need to go on. I’m still here. So God, what is it you have for me while I am
Dawn Sanders (02:29.878)
Well, one day, I woke up, and to be quite honest, Rachel, I was just sick and tired, feeling sick and tired. And so I was just like, God, I don’t, I can’t go on like this. I can’t go on hurting the way I am day after day. And it’s evident to me that I’m going to be here because, to be quite honest, Rachel, I didn’t want to be here at first. I wanted to be with my husband. He was in heaven, you know, he was saved, he is saved. And so I firmly believe I’ll see him again. And so I was like, I can’t ask him to return here. And I don’t want to because then I mean, I’m hurting now, I don’t want to hurt anymore. So let’s let me be with him. And so I was praying that God would let me. But then one morning, I went, I’m not going to pray that anymore because God, you know, I’m sensing that you’re saying by waking me up each morning, I just came to realize that God wanted me to, as I felt it and understood it at the time, was to live through the end of the world as I knew it. And I said, God, if that’s what you want, then I have to be able to enjoy my life. I am not the kind of person who can continue in this pain the way I am. Somehow or another, I must figure out how to enjoy my life.
Rachael Adams (04:03.197)
And so, what did that look like after that kind of epiphany moment? How did you start to rebuild? What did that look like for you?
Dawn Sanders (04:11.714)
Well, it looked like I was doing some real deep soul-searching and prayer and realizing that, in many ways, God had given me a clean slate and that this was an opportunity, right? I could see it as a terrible thing, and a horrible thing happened, right? And I’m not trying to minimize terrible things that happen in our lives, and they hurt and everything, but like I said, it’s not the end. And so the rest of my life can be good. I had goodness before. My husband was evidence of that. I could have goodness again. And what I understood, too, is that God wasn’t done blessing me. I had this idea in my head, Rachel, that we only get so good. I had already had two passionate loves in my life. I thought I was way over the limit as it was with the second one. And so I thought it probably won’t be after the first one. I didn’t know I’d get another passionate, loving relationship. I might have a comfortable, warm relationship, which would still be good, but I didn’t know it would be passionate what I wound up getting. And as I pondered on that, I was like, well, if God could give me another good relationship then, and he’s the same yesterday, today, and forever, he can give me good things as we advance. And so going, wow, I have a clean slate. I can’t have my husband anymore, but I can still have a good life.
Here’s another thing. I had a good life before I met my husband. He was just an addition, right? Another chapter of wonderful in my life. And so, yeah, I’m going into a new chapter. And I also sensed God saying that I had some agency in this, that I would be joining him. And that’s what happens. We join him. He invites us to join him in the creation of ourselves, And so I started to look at it as an opportunity to join God in his creation of me, my life, my world, my community, and my environment. And I got excited.
Rachael Adams (06:57.913)
What you said about God blessing us hit me because why do we think he’s a stingy God? Because I’ve done the same thing, Dawn. You know, I don’t think you’re alone in that because he is he is the best gift giver there. He’s the best gift giver, period exclamation point, and that’s what he does. He’s such a good, good father. And why do we think he will hold up and hold back from us? Like I gave you one, and that’s it for your lifetime. That is such a false narrative, and I’m so thankful you’ve brought it to light. I think that’s so important.
Dawn Sanders (07:34.486)
I think the answer to that question is the enemy. Right? He’s busy at the same time God is sending us and speaking into us, you know, life, right? He’s speaking death. The thief comes to steal, kill, and destroy. And so he’s busy, and he’s, let’s face it, not all of power, but he has power. One of the things I came to understand is I had to take my power back, that I had given too much power over to the enemy and not enough power embracing; I shouldn’t even say it because I wanted to say for a second, give it back to God. But no, God gives us power when he created us in his image and made us his representatives. He endowed us with power so we can join him in doing this. He’s not creating our lives by himself. He has given us this wonderful gift of partnership with him. We, as Christians, often leave this wonderful gift of power on the table or too much of our power on the table. And God, I’m telling you every day I’m like, God. I want to embrace as much power as possible today because I want all he has for me.
Rachael Adams (09:06.931)
Yeah, yeah. When we become believers, we receive the Holy Spirit. And that is why we forget that there’s a supernatural power inside us. And I forget the same thing. And so I think that’s so important. And your faith is what got you through your trauma and loss. And it makes me think about people, maybe even those listening right now, that they’re experiencing trauma and loss, and perhaps they don’t have the faith, or maybe they’re not tapping into the power. Would you elaborate more on the importance of your faith and what that looked like as you walked through that season?
Dawn Sanders (09:45.307)
Well, it’s the first step. You know, the subtitle of my book is God’s Creative Process. During my journey, God led me to Genesis One, the creation story ending in chapter two, verse three, where the earth was without form and void, and darkness was over the face of the deep. As I read and meditated on those passages, Rachel, it resonated with how I felt. I was feeling empty. I was feeling uncertain and dark in the sense of the unknown. And there was no structure to my life at that time. But then, as I was reading through the whole chapter, I realized that, as good Christians, we want to read the entire context of the passage. It doesn’t end. It ends with God creating the first two people, male and female, placing them in positions of power and abundance by blessing them to be fruitful and multiply, and then they enter into his rest. And I was like, I want more of that in my life, Lord, how do I get more of that? Well, I saw that the first was what God did. So yeah, I was in this dark, empty, formless place, but God wasn’t. Chapter one, verse two, the Spirit of God hovered above it all. And I was like, well, that’s part of the problem. God’s up there above it. I’m down here trying not to fall entirely into it. Right? And God is reaching out to us saying, you don’t have to fall into that abyss, right? Those dark waters.
I’ve got you; you can hang up here with me. When we align ourselves with him, because that’s what we’re doing when we’re hanging with him, we’re not down in that abyss, and we can see the possibilities because God’s all about options. The word says nothing is impossible with him. So, when I started aligning myself with him, another way I want to say this before I end this up and hand this back over to you is I didn’t want to let go of the vision I had for my life. But yet, God had already let go of that vision. Reggie was dead. Right. We were no longer one. I was in tatters. I needed to heal. Another reason for hanging with him is that we get time to heal before moving on. And during that healing process, receiving God’s vision for me and embracing not just receiving it but embracing it allowed me to.
Rachael Adams (13:02.099)
This seven-step process that you have talked about, that you told me about, and that I can’t wait to dive into, is so inspiring, and I can’t get over it. I mean, the Lord always speaks to us through His word, but the way that He has imparted this to you to share with all of us, I think, is just so powerful and will help so many people. So you mentioned the first day, the creation of creation, he’s hovering. And that’s the seven-step process that mirrors God’s methods of bringing order from chaos. And so I know we all need to order a copy of your book, but could you briefly walk us through what this process looks like in the seven steps? And you already went through step one, but I’d like to hear more.
Dawn Sanders (13:46.07)
Yeah, okay. Step one is remaining connected to God. It’s so easy when we fall into those formless, empty, and dark situations to allow them to separate us from God. The next step is seizing the moment. That’s a line to when God shines his light into your life. In shining light into our lives, God doesn’t just give us vision. He started the process of time because the Bible says we had darkness in the evening and light in the morning, and that was the first day, and then we started each day after that. And so I saw that the first thing God gave us, even before the vision, was time to heal. And that’s important because if you’re like me, I’m a type A personality eight on the Enneagram. I’m trying to move forward and get things done. The first question I asked God was, what now after Reggie died? It was all about the doing. But we need to take that time to heal so that we can align with God, as I said, and move forward with Him—not forward on our own, forward with Him. After that, we have this vision and can move into it. And I say seize the moment—going seize the moment to heal, and then seize the moment to move—because God is moving. Hovering is movement.
Dawn Sanders (15:33.976)
So even in the dark, God is moving even if we don’t perceive it because of the darkness and the emptiness. But now God is moving forward, right? He’s not just moving in this circular pattern. He’s now moving forward. And I don’t know about you, Rachel, but I don’t want God to get so far from me if I can help it. And so seize the moment and move forward in Him. So that’s number two. Number three is to create space to breathe and a source of water. That has to do with God separating the waters. He separated the waters above from those below and created the atmosphere. That’s the air to breathe. And then he gathered all the water below. And that’s the source of water that we get to drink from. Now, space to breathe and a source of water also refers to weather because, you know, air and water have to do with our weather system, so when God created light, he created time. When he created the air and the water, he created our weather system, and weather often refers to our emotions, so that’s what we’re doing there. God gave us a vision for our lives in step. I don’t know about you, Rachel, but sometimes God shows me things, and I’m not all excited, happy, or thrilled about what he wants me to do next. I’m just going to be honest about myself. And I didn’t feel that when he showed me that picture that did not have my husband in it. Not at all. And so, as I describe it in the book, I felt some way about it, and it wasn’t good. And so I needed to separate, just like God separated the waters above and below. I had to separate those negative emotions, right? So that I could stay in alignment with God because they were hindering my progress from moving forward, the negative ones, but then the positive ones I wanted to gather. I didn’t want those to slip away. And I don’t know about you, Rachel. I don’t know if you’ve ever tried to separate or gather water, but that’s not a simple process. And the Israelites who God was speaking to knew that even better than we do because God had gathered and separated the waters when he parted the Red Sea. And so when Moses shared with him that God separated and parted, the Israelites didn’t doubt that God could do it, but they understood the magnitude of that. And I’m just saying that dealing with our emotions is not small. Whether separating or gathering, it’s not an easy process because that water wants to slip through your fingers. Water tends to flow where it wants to flow. So, the fourth step is to sow productive seeds in fertile soil. Now, I will deal with the soil first because that’s where you, the environment where you put the seeds. That was the earth. God, when he gathered the waters, it brought forth the dry land, and I should say the world, the dry land upon the planet, right, on which we walk. And so we need a firm foundation to build this life we’re about to make. Fertile soil is where we sow the seeds we’re about to sow into our lives. When I meditated on that, the church was the firmest foundation I could find on the earth. Jesus is building his church. And so I say, you can build into many different soils, many of them fertile.
Dawn Sanders (20:10.922)
Our God is good and big, and we just said that Rachel and God can begin anywhere. But why not if you can start in the church as a Christian? And so fertile soil that you have in your life; for me, it was the church where I planted seeds. Now, let’s look at the seeds. I wait a second before I go to the seeds, which are fertile soil. What I mean by fertile is that it can produce a harvest because seeds and plants need nutrients from the soil to grow and thrive. And so that’s why I say you want to be in a fertile place. And for me, that was the church. Now, we move on to the seeds. Now, you don’t want just any kind of seeds. You want productive seeds. And in the Bible, not just in the Bible, at large, but in the creation story of the passage that I’m God talks about two types of soil and seeds. He talks about herb plants and fruit-bearing plants. The fruit-bearing plants have seeds inside the fruit. And I started saying, okay, God, I’m looking at these herbs, and I’m looking at this fruit. Fruit produces a harvest. So there are a lot of activities that you can accomplish in your life. Many of us busy bees are busy doing many things in our lives. They do not necessarily produce a harvest. The seeds that produce fruit produce a harvest. So God is saying you can live off of herbs. I mean, we’re alive, but if you want to harvest. Plant fruit seeds. Now, where do we find fruit seeds? The Bible is clear inside the fruit. So I started thinking, I’m sitting here in a formless, dark, empty situation. I don’t especially see any fruit right now in my life, but my life had born fruit. I just said I had this wonderful marriage. My life had born fruit. For me, as an example,
Dawn Sanders (22:40.386)
This message that God gave me to share with his people was born out of my relationship and, ultimately, the ending of that relationship with my husband. And I’m bearing fruit even in this conversation with you right now; if you don’t see any fruit in your life, you might be young listening to me and saying, but I would argue with you. I would hazard that there is some, but just in case you don’t see any, right? There is fruit around you. People around you are bearing fruit. Rachel and I are bearing fruit right now in this conversation, and we’re sowing seeds into your hearts and minds during these conversations. So fruit seeds are abundant; that’s the whole point, and they’re all around you if you take the time to see them.
As I said, I had to move from a place of going, God, take me, which is a death mindset, into a life mindset. And so when you start making that shift, Trust me, God will shine the light, and you’ll start seeing the fruit in your life. So that was step number four. Please wait a minute before I finish the step; that’s where you find the seeds, too. The first seeds sown into the church are generally, Rachel, I’m sure you know this, are seeds of preparation, right? You’re growing. The whole idea of God saying, The earth brought forth plants that’s growth, and so God is saying so seeds into a place where you can grow, and You’re gonna grow as you become prepared. So God is giving you this vision for your life, which is going sow seeds. Excuse me for the preparation. For instance, God told me I was gonna write a book. Okay
Dawn Sanders (24:58.186)
I found a writing coach to help teach and guide me through the writing process of producing a book—someone who could teach me about the craft of writing a book and the process of becoming published. I wanted to learn everything from beginning to end because God had told me this is what I would do, so whatever it is, God. He shows you that is part of your purpose and plan for being here; there’s fruit there. Some people can sow seeds just like Rachel and I are doing, who can teach you and share how to do that with you. And as they plant those seeds, that’s gonna reap a harvest. Then, you can plant more seeds and go on to the next step. So, after sowing productive seeds and fertile soil, step five is to shine your light at the right time. If in step four you’re preparing, in step five, you’re now stepping into producing and walking in your purpose. Now, that’s the shining of your life.
Also, too, energy. I don’t know about you, Rachel, but when I came out of my dark, empty, formless situation, I wasn’t the most energized person, right? But when God shines light into your life, you will become energized as you begin sowing seeds and making progress. I’m sure Rachel knows about that, too. Walking in your purpose energizes you, so shining your light is about sharing that energy with others and helping empower them to be all they can be. How many of you know our purpose is always tied to the kingdom, God’s purpose for us?
Dawn Sanders (27:20.544)
is tied to the kingdom growing and building his kingdom, which is growing and building up his people. And at the right time, well, in the scripture, the passages I’m talking about are the ones where God creates the stars, the moon, and the sun, right? They are luminaries. They tell us when to do things. They tell us when to get up and when to go to sleep. They tell the plants when it’s fall, summer, and spring so that they know when they’re supposed to shed their leaves when they’re supposed to blossom, or when they’re supposed to produce fruit. And so they will give us signs. Right? That’s what they do: the sun, the moon, and the stars give us signs of when we should do things. And God gave me signs as I went through my journey of when I was supposed to do things. And when those signs come back in step two, seize the moment. So that you can take full advantage of all that God has for you. Then, the second engages and embodies the help. When I started shining my light, I was like, help, I need help doing this. Even though people had poured into and trained me, the vision God had given me and the vision before me was big. It’s a God-sized vision. And I can’t do what God does. And I can’t do it by myself. Even with God, I cannot fulfill this vision alone. And I knew that. Said God, I am one person. And let me know, for those people who are feeling a lack of confidence, This was not a lack of confidence. This was a sobering recognition of my abilities. Like I said, I am not God. I am not meant to be God. And God-sized projects are not meant to be done alone. God does not mean for us to build His kingdom alone. He intends for us to do it together. And so God has placed help in your life, just as He’s placed fruit or will place it depending on where you are in your journey. And, you know, sometimes some of us don’t want to embrace the help.
Let’s just be honest now. We think we can do it by ourselves, not necessarily thinking we’re God, but some of us are very confident in our abilities to get things done. And we like to run and run and run and do things and come to the end of ourselves before we embrace the help. I knew immediately that this particular task God had for me, I couldn’t do on my own. And so God sends people to help us. Now, there are three types of creatures that God creates in the creation story, or at least, I’m sure some of you are like, there are many more than three. I saw three categories of creatures in the creation story. The first ones were what I call the flyers, the aviators, the birds, and bird-like creatures who can fly. And what I see in them is they’re further along the road than we are. That even as we’re shining our light, we’re still gonna continue to need help. We don’t need people to train us for what we will do tomorrow. We need people who are gonna be helping so into us who are further down the journey, down the road, and they’re gonna switch up sometimes. Not everyone will be with you the whole journey, but they’re gonna help you get down the road because, as birds, they have a different perspective. They can see where you can’t see. They’ve been where you haven’t been yet. And so they can speak into your life about the road ahead, help you see obstacles and maneuver them, hopefully, you know, completely go around them if you possibly can, but if not, help get you out of the pit you fell into. The next category is land-dwelling, right? God created the beasts, and they lived on the land with humanity. They are our peers and friends who help us get things done. And then the last category I saw was marine life. And what I saw about marine life is that they’re in the dark.
I don’t know about you guys, but it’s a dark place when I think about the ocean and being down deep in these bodies of water. Those are the people we help move forward; they are in that formless, empty, dark situation that we were in, and they need the help we receive. And it’s our job to reach back and help them up and out of that situation. Then, the last step is to play your role. Well, like I said, we were created in God’s image. And so we’re his representatives here on earth, but he also created each of us with a unique set of characteristics and skills, and Christians he gave, excuse me, he created each of us with exceptional skills, talents, and gifts. As Christians, he’s given us all unique gifts to fulfill a specific role in his kingdom. And so we are to play that role in building the kingdom. We’re not to play someone else’s role. We’re, look, there’s more than enough work to go around, trust me. And you’re gonna excel in the unique purpose that God created you for. And who doesn’t wanna excel? And at the end of that, there’s the opportunity for us to have abundance in our lives and to enter into his rest.
Rachael Adams (34:34.051)
Yeah, so now everybody knows why I think this is so inspiring. Thank you for walking us through all that. I know that your book dives even deeper into each of those. And so I’m just mindful today of the woman in the place you were 13 years ago. I feel like my world has ended. How would you encourage her today?
Dawn Sanders (34:59.532)
Well, the first thing I would say to you is there’s hope. If you like me and are like me in this particular characteristic, God woke you up this morning and said he has more for you. And so there’s hope in that. And we don’t have to hurt. We can begin to align ourselves with him. We can begin to start hovering. And once we do, God leads us in the following steps because when we hover with Him, we accept the invitation to join Him and His creation of us. And God’s gonna do His. We have to do our part. So if you embrace the fact that it’s not the end, embrace that you have, in many ways, an opportunity, a clean slate in whatever area. It might not be your life because it wasn’t my entire life. A lot of my, I had my family and a lot of things still around me that I could embrace. You start to see those things as you hover over God because you’re no longer in that dark place. And that would be the word I would give them: There is hope for tomorrow. Not only tomorrow, come on, if you’re in that space, there’s hope for today.
Rachael Adams (36:33.56)
I also want to be clear and not put words in your mouth, but this is not a fast process. It’s not a seven-day process. It’s going to take a while. So, be patient, give yourself some grace, and follow the Holy Spirit’s lead at his pace. Would you agree?
Dawn Sanders (36:52.878)
100%. Remember, I woke up many a morning. Well, I went to sleep many a night, praying God would take me to wake up that morning to go. Okay, we’ll come back to this again tonight. I will petition you again tonight, Lord. But at some point, when you go to you in your own time because Rachel is so true, Healing is a process, and everyone’s healing journey is different. And a lot of people said to me, Rachel, do you? But I’m gonna say do God because God is hovering. So if you’re not moving fast, God is hovering. The Israelites followed a pillow of fire by day, a pillar a fire by day and a cloud by night. And the Bible says there were periods when the cloud in the pillar would stop. Whenever it stopped, the Israelites would camp for days. They would camp for weeks. They would camp for months. And so they wandered into the wilderness for 40 years. I’m not suggesting you have a 40-day journey; I’m suggesting that it can be an 11-day journey, which is what it could have been had they followed God from the beginning. And so you can have an 11-day journey, but it’s still not instantaneous. It’s gonna take some time.
Rachael Adams (38:41.759)
Well, and two, we talked about at the beginning how God will continue to bless us throughout our lives, and we’ve got to be mindful and grateful for those blessings and not take them for granted, which I am so prone to do. But then also the reality is we do live in a sinful, fallen world, and even Jesus suffered when he walked this earth. He was rejected and experienced many trials, pain, opposition, and chaos here. And so just because we may even go through this process once, our world will probably come, and we feel like it will end many times, which is why we need a savior. You know, that’s why we need him. And so I think not to get too far down into the valley or the mountain top, wherever you are, because life is kind of like that, the hills and valleys, do you think?
Dawn Sanders (39:39.741)
100%. And not only do I think I shared that in the book, that it is a cycle that doesn’t have to be as deep and dark every single time as it was when my children and husband died, but, you know, switching careers. I was a data scientist for 30 years and found myself once again in a formless, dark, empty situation because when I first started the journey of writing, as I said, I didn’t know what I was doing. So, there was a huge knowledge gap. I didn’t have the same network and support system regarding networking. I have a lot of dear friends that I made and will continue to be friends from my career as a data scientist, but they won’t serve me as effectively as some new friends like Rachel in this new stage of my life. And so you will go through this repeatedly where you start over, but not necessarily feeling like you’re falling into a pit.
Rachael Adams (40:47.571)
Well, so Dawn, this season, I’ve been asking all of my guests a couple of questions, and one of those is, is there a biblical concept of love that applies to this topic that you can think of that you would want to encourage us?
Dawn Sanders (41:05.098)
Yeah, and for me, it’s marriages. What this journey taught me, as I told you at the beginning, is that I had a series of unproductive relationships, which are even good, and that at some point, death does us part and comes even to the best of those of us with the best relationships. And so, Though the relationship ends in the sense that the marriage ends my relationship with my husband, I do not believe, well, let me say it this way. My relationship with Reggie has not ended. The Bible clearly shows that there are no husbands and wives in heaven. And so I will not be his wife. He will not be my husband. But the best part of our relationship and the love part of our relationship was friendship. I had a deep, abiding friendship, which I miss the most. And so that love lives on. And so I’m looking forward to seeing my friend again when God calls me.
Rachael Adams (42:19.579)
Absolutely. I imagine that’s such a comforting thought, and I hope so many are listening today. And so a little bit lighter as we start to close. Is there something that you’re loving right now?
Dawn Sanders (42:35.886)
I’m loving how God’s moving in my life right now. On this journey, there has been some real spiritual warfare. And not that that has ended at all. I had some going on just a couple of days ago. I had some an hour before our call; I had some spiritual warfare going on in my life. And God hasn’t necessarily moved in the areas I thought he would move, but he is. And I love that I am at a place where I’ve taken my hands off and am just along for the ride. So when I say I’m joining him, I’m in the passenger seat and will throw this in. That’s how it used to be with my husband. I didn’t think about that before, but I had a relationship with my husband, and I didn’t care where we went as long as I was with him. And often people would ask me, where are you going? And I’d be like, I don’t know, I’m going with Reggie, right? And that’s where I am. And that’s how I feel right now about God. I don’t know where I’m going with him, but I like where I am and what I know about the future. It seems bright.
Rachael Adams (44:01.599)
I love that picture because I don’t know where you’re going, Lord, but I just want to be with you. Just take the wheel, and I’ll be in the passenger seat. Let’s go. I love that. Well, today’s conversation has encouraged, inspired, and challenged me in many ways, and I’m sure the women listening have been as well. I would be honored if you would pray for us as we close.
Dawn Sanders (44:29.198)
It would be my honor. Father God, We thank you, Lord, for this opportunity to discuss you. We thank you, Lord, for the work you are doing in the lives of Rachel, me, and every listener who is listening no matter when they are listening because we know that you are doing a work. And we thank you, Lord, that you’re not done, that if you woke us up this morning, you’re not done. And that means there are possibilities because nothing is impossible with you. So, no matter how bad we may feel in this moment, Lord, we can feel better. And Lord, dare I say it’s impossible To feel good. In my formless, empty, and dark situation, I wondered if I would ever feel good again. I knew I’d feel joy, Lord. I’d walked with you long enough to know I would feel joy. But Lord, would I feel happy? Would I feel laughter? And I mean deep laughter. And not just for a but just to be tickled pink with my life. And Lord, thank you for how you will change situations because of this conversation. I thank you for how people listening will feel joy, peace, and happiness because you are a joyful, peaceful, happy God. And as Rachel said, you’re not stingy. You’ll move people from dark places, from hanging above dark abysses to walking in the overflow. And I thank you for that. So, Lord, it’s a prayer of thankfulness. I don’t have a request. Well, yes, actually, I do have a request at this moment. And my request, Lord, is that you would put a hedge of protection around all the listeners, Lord, a hedge of protection that keeps the enemy from speaking words of darkness into their lives, keeping him from stealing and killing and destroying, allowing them to hear what thus say of the allowing them to align with your great purpose for their lives. And so, as we leave this place, I once again return to a place of thanksgiving, and I was there, Lord, because I saw the great things that you’re about to do, and I thank you for them. In Jesus’ name, amen.
Rachael Adams (47:53.763)
Amen. Thank you so much. I know I want to stay connected with you; I’m sure listeners will want to tell us how best to do that.
Dawn Sanders (48:01.582)
My website, DawnMannSanders.com, has a quiz called, What is Your Starting Over Style? Where you can learn more about yourself and the season that you’re in as far as starting over, but it also will give you some action steps on how you can move forward based on how you are and how God made
Rachael Adams (48:33.047)
I will include all that in the show notes, but Dawn, thank you for your time today. Thank you for your wisdom. Thank you for your heart. You have just been such a blessing to me, and I’m confident the same for everyone listening today. Thank you for joining
Dawn Sanders (48:47.374)
Thank you for having me, Rachael.
*Transcript is AI generated
Connect with Dawn:
Empowering Your Spiritual Growth With God | Dawn Mann Sanders
