We are in a special season right now. The season of Lent.
Lent is the forty days before Easter. It is a contemplative season, which means it is a time when we practice slowing down on purpose. In a world full of noise, notifications, and constant activity, Lent gently invites us to quiet our lives so we can remember who we are and who we belong to.
Many people choose to make life a little simpler during these forty days. Some turn down the noise. Some reduce activities. Some spend less time on their phones. Others fast from certain foods or habits. These practices are not about punishment. They are about making space. Space to think. Space to pray. Space to remember that we belong to God.
Jesus in the Wilderness
Lent connects us to a powerful moment in the life of Jesus. Right after his baptism, when he was named God’s Beloved Son, Jesus went into the wilderness for forty days, as told in Gospel of Matthew and Gospel of Luke. He stepped away from the crowds and the noise and entered the Judean desert.
The wilderness was quiet. There was little food. There were no cheering crowds or busy schedules. In that still place, Jesus prayed and reflected on who he was and what God had called him to do. In the desert, he chose what it would mean to live as God’s Son and what kind of world he would build.
He chose a world where people share instead of hoard. A world where power is used to heal rather than harm. A world shaped by love, mercy, and justice.
For hundreds of years, Christians have remembered this story during Lent. We are not only invited to hear it, but to step into it. Lent reminds us that we are part of God’s story too.
Joining Jesus in the Quiet
Jesus intentionally left distraction and entered the desert. Christians throughout history have followed his example by setting aside time to be alone with God. Lent gives us a shared season to practice this together.
Slowing down can be surprisingly hard. Our bodies and minds are used to constant stimulation. When we try to be still, we often notice how restless we have become.
This year we wanted to create a tool that could help children (teens and adults in our space participated too) to slow down, spend some time in quiet and enter the story of Jesus. We made Lenten Sandboxes.
What Is a Lenten Sandbox?
A Lenten Sandbox is not simply a toy bin. It is a small wilderness space. We made individual boxes a simple 13 by 8 inch container with a lid so it can be easily stored and revisited throughout the season. You could just as easily make one larger one with a sand table or large bin. Inside we placed sand, small stones, pieces of wood, simple tools for drawing and shaping, a cross or heart, a flower, and a printed sandbox guide.
(Note: sand was the most expensive part of this project for us. We opted for high quality play sand similar to that found in children’s sensory play tables. We found outdoor play sand to be too dirty and it didn’t have the same soothing texture. We found the brand “Sandtastik” at a local education supply store.)
The sandbox invites quiet sensory based play to help slow down. Children are invited to gently move the sand. Build a small scene. Create patterns. Smooth it flat again. And while they play they can practice silence, imagine the story in a new way, play or pray.
In the desert, Jesus would have felt the grit of sand in his hands. He would have watched the wind shape the ground. He would have noticed stones, shadows, and small signs of life. He would have felt the heat of the day and the cool of the night.
What might it have been like to be alone for forty days?
What might he have prayed?
What might he have noticed?
Sometimes when our hands are gently engaged, our hearts become more open. Prayer is not only words. Prayer can also be movement, touch, creativity, and imagination.
Ways to Play and Pray in the Wilderness
Here are a few simple ways participants can use their sandboxes:
Create a Scene
Use the small accessories to build a landscape. A mountain. A winding path. A quiet resting place. A space that feels hard. A space that feels hopeful.
Can you create a scene that reflects how your life feels right now?
Draw in the Sand
Use your finger or a small tool to draw lines, make waves, or write a word. Then smooth it away and watch how easily the surface changes.
Ask yourself: What might God be reshaping in me?
Clear the Space
Remove the objects. Let the sand run through your fingers. Hold a handful and release it. Notice your breathing. Let this be a quiet moment of simply being with God.
Make and Unmake
Build something, then gently smooth it flat. Let it become a prayer of release.
God, I let go.
God, reshape this.
God, help me start again.
Symbols of the Season
Inside the sandboxes we also included two special symbols.
The cross or heart reminds us that Jesus is with us in the wilderness. The desert is not a place of abandonment. It is a place of companionship. In this season of Lent, Christ walks with us.
The flower reminds us that Lent begins in the desert but ends in a garden. On Easter morning, life rises. Even in barren places, something is growing. Even when things feel dry, God is always working toward resurrection.
Practicing the Way of Jesus
Our sandboxes are being used throughout the entire season of lent. They’ll be used as a tool for slowing down and becoming quiet. They’ll be used to help us pray and talk to God. They’ll also be used to help us listen and contemplate what we might hear God speaking to us.
When Jesus was in the wilderness, he practiced living as God’s Beloved Son. Lent invites us to practice living as God’s beloved children. As our hands sift through the sand, we’re also invited to take inventory of our lives and discern how we are living. How do our choices bring hope to someone else? How could our hands, our words, or our time help instead of harm?
What could we do today that reflects God’s love in real and practical ways?
Lent helps us slow down so we can listen again to the voice that calls us beloved. It creates space in our hearts for God and for others. As we enter the wilderness together, may we discover that the quiet is not empty. It is full of presence.
Create Your Own Lenten Sandboxes
Lenten Sandboxes can help slow our bodies. They open imaginative prayer. They create room for holy curiosity. They provide a concrete way to enter the story of Jesus in the wilderness. Instead of only hearing about Lent, participants can touch it, shape it, and sit quietly inside it.
Interested in making Lenten Sandboxes for your own setting? I am sharing a free Canva template of our Lenten Sandbox Guide. You can print it as is or adapt the wording, formatting, and prompts to reflect your theology, language, and community.
My hope is not that you copy what we have done exactly, but that you feel inspired to build a version that serves your people well. .
If you create Lenten Sandboxes in your ministry, I would love to hear how you use them and what you discover along the way. Visit the Canva Link Here.
If this idea sparks something for your ministry, I share more creative children’s ministry ideas, hands on Bible story practices, and seasonal resources over on Instagram. Come follow along.
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