From Dust, To Breath

It’s funny how the most profound things come to you when you’re least expecting them.

That’s what happened to me when I decided it was finally time to dust the overhead fans—the ones I had put off for far too long. You know the ones. You don’t notice how bad they’ve gotten until you tilt your head back and suddenly regret looking.

So, I grabbed my duster and got to work, swiping away at months of neglect. And as I did, the light from the window caught the particles floating in the air—tiny specks dancing in the sunlight, disturbed by my movement.

Dust.

So small. So insignificant.

And yet, as I stood there watching it swirl and glow in the light, I couldn’t shake the thought:

We are dust…

That’s how we started, how God formed us—out of the very thing most people wipe away without a second thought. And yet, in His hands, dust became life.

How often do we see ourselves that way? As if we’re nothing more than a tiny fleck, floating aimlessly? How often do we convince ourselves that we’re too small to matter, too broken to be useful, too far gone to be restored?

I’ve been there.

I’ve felt like dust—like my life had been shaken up, leaving me scattered, unsettled, and barely noticeable in the grand scheme of things.

Like the season when everything I had built seemed to crumble. The plans I had carefully laid out? Gone. The confidence I once carried? Shaken. The dreams I held onto? Slipping through my fingers.

I remember sitting there, thinking, “What now, God? What’s left of me?”

And in that stillness, I felt Him whisper:

“You were made from dust, and I breathe life into dust.”

Maybe you know what that feels like, to have pieces of you scattered, to feel like you’re grasping for something solid. Maybe life has knocked you down so hard, you’re left wondering if you’ll ever feel whole again.

But let me remind you of something: God does His best work with dust.

He formed man from dust.

He healed the blind with dust and spit.

He shakes dust off feet when it’s time to move forward.

Dust isn’t the end. It’s the beginning.

And I’ve seen it in my own life. Every time I thought I was done, every time I felt like I had nothing left, He took the broken pieces, breathed life into them, and formed something new.

He is the God who restores. Who rebuilds. Who takes what looks like nothing and makes it into something glorious.

Because dust in His hands is never wasted.

So if you feel like dust today—scattered, weary, wondering if anything good can come from where you are—I want you to take heart.

Because you are exactly where miracles begin.

“Then the Lord God formed a man from the dust of the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man became a living being.” - Genesis 2:7

Tell me, where have you seen God bring something beautiful out of dust in your life?

And if you know someone who needs this reminder today, send it to them. Encourage them. Remind them: this is not the end.

They may feel like dust, but they are in the hands of the One who breathes life.

With love,

Sarah