Wednesday, June 25, 2008

Joseph in Pokeberry

A lovely post by Mary at Pokeberry Garden about Joseph in Egypt, how all that time he was waiting to be called into service by the king he wasn't really waiting at all, but living as best he could in whatever circumstance he found himself in.

But there is something I was struck by in Joseph's waiting time. He lived his life to the fullest as he waited. He didn't 'just wait' so to speak. The bible tells us that in every position Joseph found himself he was faithful, he did his work as best he could and he had the outlook of serving God in whatever it was he had to do.
She relates it to her own experience, losing a job, having to short-sell a house, having to move around a lot and work suboptimal (one might say) jobs. It's really a lovely post and I relate a lot to what she's talking about, of course.

DW and the DKs all pretty much looked at the house in Illinois as the perfect place - perfect town, perfect schools, etc. I always had my doubts because it seemed altogether too white and cul-de-sac-y for me, but in the end the decision was made for us. There has really been a sense of exile because of how much they liked it there. We also landed in a place which is for me (being from the east) the sort of quintessential place-you-never-expected-to-end-up-in. But I'm grateful that the community here gave us a place to land! We have a nice (rented) house and we are a lot closer to her folks and friends in KC.

We've been licking our wounds to a degree, but also doing what Joseph did, and doing the best we can. I wish the house would resolve itself but I'm not driving myself crazy about it. I felt sorry for myself the last 6 months in IL but when I got here I decided I didn't have time for that anymore, and I don't think DW does either. She has tomatoes planted in a pot. We're working on our debt. We're wrestling with the school district to get the DKs what they need. You know, living it.

Thanks, Mary, for reminding me that in the end, we're all on God's plan anyway.

3 comments:

SPF said...

Beautiful, beautiful post. It's hard to be in that "living-while-waiting" place all the time, especially since some of the waiting involves figuring out next steps and going--but the general suggestion is really inspiring to me.

SPF said...

Sorry, I think that last comment wasn't entirely clear. What I meant is, sometimes it's hard to know where the right balance is between living with what is and working towards what you hope will be, especially when the latter doesn't produce obvious, linear, short-term results.

Mary said...

Moti--thank you for such a nice mention. I replied to your comment on my blog. I am so happy to read your wife has started some tomatoes! You know, none of my landlord's minded me gardening--in fact they like it. When they drive by they see that someone is taking care of the place I think. Of course I always asked first.