I wish life was as easy as it appears in a commercial. I wish that simply showing up with a bucket of the Colonel's chicken was enough to bring the family together at meal time. I like to plan ahead. I like to script the future. It seldom goes the way that I had imagined. In today's readings we encounter two stories that will become miraculously different as they progress. My son leaves home for his first semester of college this fall.
I would like to enjoy our last opportunities for family time together.
He also recognizes how little time he has left at home, but the
family is only one of his many priorities requiring attention before
he moves out. I would like to be the one who determines how things
will go, but the time when the dad was the ultimate authority has
long passed. In spite of that, I still am far from seeing my little
boy as his own independent entity. I really would like to keep him
at home and under my influence. I think we see similar events in
today's readings. The Lord's people are not left without support. In the reading from Exodus, God's next intervention is literally on the horizon. In the Psalm and in the Gospel, the words of encouragement for those carrying the Lord into new territory are clear and to the point. My prayer today is for trust and confidence in what is to come.
I pray in thanksgiving for blessings in the past and I ask for openness
to the future. I ask for the willingness to let the world unfold
outside my plan. I ask for the ability to enjoy the moments of happiness
and community that are along the way. |