exodus

there's a reason they call it the good book, and that's because it's so gosh darn applicable.

i have some thoughts on joseph and the brothers, etc. but i'm skipping ahead to talk a bit about exodus because i was dumbfounded how much i needed to read that story, given that i'm about to embark on an exodus from new york.

granted i'm not fleeing captors who have kept me enslaved for hundreds of years. but i'm still venturing into the unknown.

maybe other people think of moses differently, but i always regarded him as this great leader with the confidence to lead a nation. noooooooot exactly. he was a reluctant prophet, at best. and one of the first that we've encountered so far (though jacob had his moments). everyone else seemed to take god at his word. but moses was skeptical, not of god, but of himself. well, so, in a way, god.

let's back it up here and just say that moses lived a charmed life, which i can identify with. he literally floated up to a royal upbringing. i feel like there is so much that i've been given in this life that i don't deserve. a family that, while crazy, adores me and has provided for me. great opportunities at school, at work. just really really fortunate.

and i think sometimes when you just have that stuff, and you haven't earned any of it, you don't understand what it is to have those things. and i think that's moses, in a nutshell. he was in a powerful position when he killed that egyptian, which in turn sent him into exile. "with great power comes great responsibility."

so then things are set into motion. moses has a midlife crisis of sorts. he returns to his people's roots, working as a shephard in the wilderness. and then god recruits him.

i am not at all vain enough to claim that my move to england is for some higher purpose. it's nothing like that in the least. but i'm about to take on a job that i don't feel nearly qualified enough to hold. and in that respect, i can see where moses is coming from. my boss seems confident that i can do it. why can't i?

but in the end, god provides moses with the tools he needs (i.e. aaron/crazy staff) to get the job done. and i think that's the lesson. we're never going to feel ready for the next step, for the move, for the marriage, for the kid. but you have to trust that you've been prepared to move forward and take on the challenges ahead. that everything that you've done so far has prepared you for this moment to go forth. and turn the nile into blood and stuff like that.

good times, good times. v. excited to see what happens next.