April 10

The Burning Bush

        Moses was keeping the flock of his father-in-law Jethro, the priest of Midian; he led his flock beyond the wilderness, and came to Horeb, the mountain of God. There the angel of the Lord appeared to him in a flame of fire out of a bush; he looked, and the bush was blazing, yet it was not consumed. Then Moses said, “I must turn aside and look at this great sight, and see why the bush is not burned up.”  When the Lord saw that he had turned aside to see, God called to him out of the bush, “Moses, Moses!” And he said, “Here I am.”  Then he said, “Come no closer! Remove the sandals from your feet, for the place on which you are standing is holy ground.”  He said further, “I am the God of your father, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob.” And Moses hid his face, for he was afraid to look at God. Then the Lord said, “I have observed the misery of my people who are in Egypt; I have heard their cry on account of their taskmasters. Indeed, I know their sufferings, and I have come down to deliver them from the Egyptians, and to bring them up out of that land to a good and broad land, a land flowing with milk and honey, to the country of the Canaanites, the Hittites, the Amorites, the Perizzites, the Hivites, and the Jebusites. The cry of the Israelites has now come to me; I have also seen how the Egyptians oppress them. So come, I will send you to Pharaoh to bring my people, the Israelites, out of Egypt.”

Exodus 3:1-10

           

            Fire has always been fascinating for my son.  The flames dance and move, consuming everything that is given to them and transforming once-solid wood into ash and smoke.  The fire pops and hisses and cracks as it grows.  The smell of woodsmoke is pleasant and the presence of a fire usually means that there is something tasty to eat on the way.  Heat and cold are not significant factors to him so he will usually plant himself next to a campfire for hours on end.  Each of his senses are engaged in new and interesting ways which is intensely compelling for those who are on the autism spectrum.

            The problem with fire is that it is high maintenance.  It needs to be carefully contained and it will remain active only as long as we are willing to feed it.  If my son had come across the Burning Bush, where there was fire that did not consume its fuel and was not in danger of spreading, I do not think he would have ever left.  I don’t know how God would have responded to a boy trying to throw sticks and leaves into the burning bush when He described it as a holy place…but I am certain that we would have found out.

            Moses received the call of God through a plant on fire.  It would not be his strangest interaction with God.  Here was Moses, a child of both the Palace and the Slaves, living in exile because he tried to rescue his enslaved brethren.  He was herding sheep through the wilderness, simple and humble work.  He thought his life’s influence and importance had already been spent.  He would live out the rest of his days in simplicity and anonymity, caring for his Father-In-Law’s sheep.

            It is easy to feel that the best and most important days of our lives have already passed, that we will live out the rest of our days in the anonymity of childcare.  We have degrees and skills and awards and passions and life experience…and now we have children who desperately need all of us.  There is honor in caring for the flock that we have been given, but we are gifted to be able to do so much more.  That is a tension that is hard to hold in our hearts.

            Moses had the foundational elements to become an amazing leader.  He was educated and passionate and strong and courageous.  What he learned in the simple work of herding were vital lessons in stepping into his calling.  He learned how to direct and manage large groups of simple animals in the wilderness, which he would do for decades with the children of Israel.  He learned when to let the group rest and when to push them a little further.  He learned keep an eye out for potential dangers and that some individuals need firm boundaries and some instead need a gentle approach.  He learned to listen and lean into God in the quietness of the wild.

            I have a number of foundational elements that were forged in my early years.  I am well-educated, good at learning with several skills, abilities and passions.  Even with all those things, I would be nowhere near the writer, teacher, leader or professional that I am today without learning vital lessons from the simple, humble work of caring for my child.  I learned service and perseverance and play and focus and the power of the present moment and the value of rest and learning styles and the importance of clear communication and routine.  I learned joy in the midst of hardship and how to lean in and listen to God in the silence.  I learned that I have value even when there is no one to affirm that.  These are all things that have made me more complete and competent in whatever calling comes next.

            The simple, humble, isolated work of child care is not an indicator that God is done with you…it is a clue that He has amazing things ahead that require a deeper skill set.

           

A moment to reflect:

How have you grown through the care and keeping of your child?