It was a hot day in the desert. I did feel a trace of breeze blowing through
my branches, but the air was still warm as it touched my leaves.
There was very little movement around
me. I was mostly hidden from the
shepherds passing by with their flocks.
The sounds of the sheep as they made their way forward always made me
happy, reassuring me that there was growth and life all around me.
One day, I felt a different wind engulf
me.
It spoke to me.
“Can you hear me? Do you feel my presence?”
I shook my leaves, as if to nod in
acknowledgement.
“You are a beautiful S’NEH (bush). You offer
unique color to the terrain around you, here in this corner of the desert.”
I had no idea why, all of a sudden, a voice
addressed me. I was speechless, as if I
could talk at all, but I was overwhelmed.
Who was speaking to me?
“Who are you? It has been a hot but quiet day. Why have you made your presence known to me?”
“You don’t know?” Asked the voice. “Certainly even a S’NEH such as you can recognize
the One who created you.”
“My Creator? You mean, you are.....the Eternal - the One
who is always here? The One has put life
into my roots and branches and leaves?”
“Yes, it is I who gives you existence now
and who made your ancestors come to be.
I need something from you.” The
Eternal’s voice had a sense of urgency.
“I know that you have heard the shepherds
coming by with their flocks. They rarely
stop to see you. I need one shepherd to
see you.”
I was puzzled. “Eternal One, why would
this particular shepherd need to see me?
And how will I get his attention?
I can’t cry out or shake my branches so that the sound will be heard all
around.”
My Creator answered me, “I have a way to
make you seem to be on fire. You will
have a brilliant appearance that will beckon this one man to come to see why
you look like you are burning AND why the fire is not destroying you.”
“I will need him to see you because of
the spectacle of your ability to defy being consumed by the fire. You see, this man, Moses, was raised not too
far away in Egypt by the rulers of the country.
He is not one of them. He is a
Hebrew. You have sensed the passing of Hebrews moving in the desert not too far
from you from time to time. Some of them
are now slaves in Egypt. They are made
to do hard work, and if they don’t complete their daily tasks, they may be
cruelly beaten, even killed. Moses has
fled because he was so angered when he saw a taskmaster beating a slave that he
murdered the Egyptian to end the heartless treatment of one of his brethren.”
“I need you need to teach Moses this
lesson: that even though it may seem
that his people will be vanquished under the harsh labor of the Egyptians, they
will not be. Nothing, not even this
level of cruelty, can consume them, just like the apparent fire will not
consume you. I will speak to him from
your leaves and branches, and he will hear my voice, and he will know that I
will be with him as I direct him to free his people from bondage.”
I couldn’t believe this honor that my
Creator would think to bestow upon me.
“Eternal
One, I am humbled by your request.
Please, do what you need to do, make Your presence known to Moses
through me. I will help you and Moses
bring freedom to his people.”
Moses came, and his people were freed with
God’s help.
And as for me...that glow from my Creator
still remained. And I realized how my
life had changed. I knew that, when
people would tell this story, I would always be a symbol of the possibility of
endurance and perseverance against seemingly insurmountable odds - but only if
people would turn aside, open their eyes, and see that God always stands ready
to carry them to a new place of promise and hope.
I pray from the depth of my roots that
they will, in their time of need, turn aside, open their eyes, and see.
No comments:
Post a Comment