In September I attended an Elevation Worship concert. The was music loud. (I may have been too old for this one.) But I DID love the LED bracelets we were given upon entry. Very cool to have a personal light show on your wrist in sync with the one on stage.
Two months later, I'm still remembering the super short 'sermon' (?) shared at the half-way point. It was about Miriam, Moses' sister. I'm going to paraphrase what I heard/remember, so be forewarned that I'm likely gonna butcher the whole message.
It was about that time when, after all the plagues, the children of Israel (descendants of Joseph, the young fella who had a coat of many colours), were told to leave Egypt in the middle of the night. They had to hurry, in case Pharoah changed his mind. So they packed up quickly and grabbed what they could carry.
I'm trying to imagine what I'd grab if I had an hour to pack for an unknown adventure that would last the rest of my life to a location only referred to as The Land of Milk and Honey. (Say WUT? How would one pack for THAT?) There was no coming back. It might be exciting but probably also very scary. If you are the type to get anxious, your blood pressure would likely be off the charts. And Dr. M would call you at 10 pm to tell you he's sent a prescription to your local Shopper's pharmacy.
ANYway, they left, as per the instructions given to them, taking All The Things they'd need to live in the wilderness and/or The Promised Land. Haha. What did they know? They'd been slaves for 430 years. An oppressed people who knew nothing about packing, traveling, camping, traveling ...
As expected, because Pharaoh was a bit of a pill, it only took a hot moment for him to realize he wanted his slaves back. You probably are familiar with this story. But just in case you need a refresher, here's the official account. If you know how this story plays out, feel free to scroll abit:
"When the king of Egypt was told that the people had fled, Pharaoh and his officials changed their minds and said, “What the heck? What were we thinking! We let the Israelites go and have lost their services!” So he took six hundred of the best chariots, along with all the other chariots of Egypt, with officers over all of them. The Egyptians—all Pharaoh’s horses and chariots, horsemen and troops—pursued the Israelites and overtook them as they camped by the sea.
As Pharaoh approached, the Israelites looked up, and LOW AND BEHOLD! there were the Egyptians, marching after them. They were terrified and cried out “What the heck? What were we thinking? Was it because there were no graves in Egypt that you brought us to the desert to die? What have you done to us by bringing us out of Egypt? Didn’t we say to you in Egypt, ‘Leave us alone; let us serve the Egyptians’? It would have been better for us to serve the Egyptians than to die in the desert!”
Moses answered, “What the heck? Oh ye people of little faith... Do not be afraid. The Lord will fight for you; you need only to be still.”
Then the Lord said to Moses, “ Tell the Israelites to move on. Raise your staff and stretch out your hand over the sea to divide the water so that the Israelites can go through the sea on dry ground.”
Then Moses stretched out his hand over the sea, (without questioning God or saying What the heck...) and all that night the Lord drove the sea back with a strong east wind and turned it into dry land. The waters were divided, and the Israelites went through the sea on dry ground, with a wall of water on their right and on their left.
The Egyptians pursued them, and all Pharaoh’s horses and chariots and horsemen followed them into the sea. During the last watch of the night the Lord looked down at the Egyptian army and threw it into confusion. He jammed the wheels of their chariots so that they had difficulty driving. And the Egyptians said, “Plot twist. We didn't see this coming! Let’s get away from the Israelites! The Lord is fighting for them against Egypt.”
Then the Lord said to Moses, “Stretch out your hand over the sea so that the waters may flow back over the Egyptians and their chariots and horsemen.” Moses stretched out his hand over the sea, and at daybreak the sea went back to its place. The water flowed back and covered the chariots and horsemen—the entire army of Pharaoh that had followed the Israelites into the sea. Not one of them survived.
The Israelites went through the sea on dry ground, with a wall of water on their right and on their left. That day the Lord saved Israel from the hands of the Egyptians. And when the Israelites saw the mighty hand of the Lord displayed against the Egyptians, the people feared the Lord and put their trust in him and in Moses his servant."
Then Miriam, Moses' sister, took a timbrel (tamborine) in her hand, and all the women followed her singing and dancing while Miriam sang to them:
"Sing to the Lord, for He is highly exalted..."
And THIS is the point of this blog post.
Miriam, on that scary night, when she was getting ready to flee a madman and follow her younger brother (the one who, as a baby, floated on the Nile in a basket) she followed him into the unknown, packed her timbrel, anticipating that she was going to need it to praise God someday.
She packed her praise. She planned on being thankful, despite the fears, the anxiety, the gut-wrenching awareness that danger may be ahead ... despite all that, she packed her instrument of praise, trusting in a happy ending.
Whoa.
Looking forward to having tea with Miriam one day.
Three things I'm thankful for:
1. Sunny December days with crisp clean air and blue skies.
2. Condo living. Especially when there's a store that sells Cream Soda within walking distance. And a bakery that makes fresh croissants every morning.
3. Checking things off my To Do list.
4. Long, rambling voice notes from friends with delightful accents from England.
5. Attentive doctors.
6. Plans to do seasonal things this weekend.
7. Plans to do nothing before then.
Feel your boobs, send texts to those you love, and take a nap when you need it.
Much love xo
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