We Are His People

I failed my daughter this morning.

Since school started, her main responsibilities have been completing her homework and making sure her Chromebook is fully charged each evening before bedtime. My task is to ensure all her paperwork is present and accounted for in her folder, and signing off in the daily planner provided by her teacher, lovingly designated “the law“.  Serious consequences ensue if this planner has not been signed by the parent and brought back to school each day.

This morning, I lost “the law“.  And by lost, I mean I was almost convinced it had been stolen by alien invaders while we slept.  I. could. not. find. it. anywhere.

Searching frantically, I tossed neatly folded piles of clothes halfway across the living room and pulled back pieces of furniture in desperation.  None of it mattered.  I was close to tears; disappointed in myself for misplacing it and fearful that Jesi would have to suffer the consequences of my failure.

And then, it hit me.  I walked straight into the kitchen, holding my nose while I opened the lid to the trash can, and reached down with my left hand into its sordid depths.  My heart soared when I felt my fingers cross over an unmistakable set of binder rings.

“I’m so sorry sweetie, can you forgive me for being so careless?” Tears welled up as she ran into the kitchen and wrapped her arms around my waist.

“Of course, Mommy.  All that matters now is that what was lost has been found.” Her instant forgiveness showered my soul with much needed grace.

Now Jethro, the priest of Midian and father-in-law of Moses, heard of everything God had done for Moses and for his people Israel, and how the Lord had brought Israel out of Egypt. — Exodus 18:1

Now flashback 3,400 years in the past.  Moses, the man God brought up to lead the Israelites out of the bonds of slavery in Egypt and across the desert to the land that was promised to them, reclined back against the cushions spread over the floor of the tent he shared with his wife, Zipporah, relaying the events of the last few years to his father-in-law, Jethro.

The elder man’s face lit up as his son-in-law retold story after story of the miracles that occurred in Egypt and how, despite the growing seriousness of the situation, Pharaoh continued in his decision to refuse freedom for the Israelites.  Moses stood upright, sweeping his hands upward as he re-enacted the magnificent events of the waters of the Red Sea parting.  Then suddenly, he thrust his arms in violent downward motions displaying the force of the water that swallowed up Pharaoh’s army once all had cross safely.

Sitting back down, Moses remained quiet for a minute as he reflected on these events. He chose to inspire his father-in-law with the grandeur and majesty of God, keeping to himself all his personal struggles with fears, doubts and concerns about their future.  I’m positive there were times when he wanted to throw his hands up in the air, not in the excitement of the Glory of God, but in the frustrations of dealing with an unruly group of people, time after time.

I’m almost certain he felt like he had failed them many times.  God’s chosen people whom he personally led into the desert had lost all connection to their former lives with no visible or tangible signs that what was promised would ever be found.  What would be found within that wilderness, however, was “the law” that would become the very foundation of their faith and point them directly to the One would who come to redeem and save.

And when they failed him miserably, begging his forgiveness, God was faithful to forgive.  His story of redemption did not end in the wilderness of Sinai, nor did it end with my miraculous retrieval of Jesi’s planner this morning before school.  It will not end until all that He promised has come to pass.  Until then, we can rest in the blessed assurance that we are His people.

And by His Grace, we are saved!

Know that the Lord is God. It is he who made us, and we are his; we are his people, the sheep of his pasture. — Psalm 100:3