Day 44, or February the 13th. My rose -tinted
specks are still in good working order. Our thoughts
today are from Numbers chapter 11, verses 5 and
6. We remember the fish we ate in Egypt at no
cost, also the cucumbers, melons, leeks, onions,
and garlic. But now we have lost our appetite.
we never see anything but this manna. First,
the big picture surrounding these verses. The
mourning and complaining continued, and the wilderness
wandering had only just begun. It's been exactly
one year since God freed the Israelites from
Egypt, but memories fade quickly. In no time
at all, they were recalling the nice things they
were missing. They make no mention of the taskmaster's
brutality, or the making of bricks without straw.
They just remember the negatives. Before they
set off, they celebrated Passover, which must
have been a spiritual high point for the whole
nation. God never leaves their camp, as he guides
them with a cloud, which would stop at a place
where camp was to be made that night. When the
time was right, it would set off again, and they
followed it, until it stopped again. There was
also the sound of two silver trumpets that would
be a signal for the tribes to leave, in an orderly
fashion, as agreed. They hadn't gone far before
grumbling could be heard. It got louder and louder,
and even Moses' sister Miriam and her brother
Aaron were amongst the moaners. And now our action
step for today. Just as we don't have to teach
our children to misbehave, we need no instruction
on how to moan. It seems to me that some people
are particularly gifted at it. I don't like criticism,
and I don't know anyone who does, do you? However,
when the comments are made in order to improve
my life or me, they are so much easier to bear.
If only I could see the positive side first instead
of having to look for it. The negative jumps
into my face very easily, and I have to dodge
around it in order to see the other side, the
positive side. Why not train yourself to be the
sort of person who says, on the other hand...