Naming Animals [About the Title]

    One of Adam's first tasks as a human being was to name the animals God had created. God brought them all to Adam and he gave each creature a word to be theirs.

Once an artist, named Makoto Fujimura, came and spoke during chapel at Union University. One of the things he mentioned was that the job of a poet is to name animals. 

     I think what he meant is, just as Adam gave a word to each creature, poets, and all writers, give words to creation. 

     This is what I hope to do as a writer. Life is sometimes funny, sometimes sad, sometimes thought-provoking, sometimes completely senseless, and everything in between. I've always heard that the writer's job is to give words life, but my goal is the opposite: I want to give life words.

Lesson from the Israelites #1

I wrote this a while ago ("wallago", as it is pronounced here in TN). But, I've recently been reading more about the Israelites, so this will be first in a sort of series. 

I recently ran across a verse that I had never noticed before. Right in the heart of the story of the Israelites leaving Egypt is Exodus 13:17-18. It says, “When Pharaoh let the people go, God did not lead them on the road through the Philistine country, though that was shorter. For God said, ‘If they face war, they might change their minds and return to Egypt.’ So God led the people around by the desert road toward the Red Sea. The Israelites went up out of Egypt armed for battle.”

          We know how the story turns out. We know that the Israelites are going to get to the Red Sea, God is going to command Moses to stretch his hand over the sea, the waters will part, the Israelites will walk across dry land, and the Egyptians will get swallowed by the waters. We know this. The Israelites did not.

            They came out of Egypt and were met with a guide: a cloud during the day and a pillar of fire at night. This cloud/fire was leading them straight to the sea. 

            I can just imagine the Israelites following this cloud/fire and talking amongst themselves, finally getting brave enough to confront Moses. I can see them coming up to him one by one, maybe in groups sometimes, to offer their advice. “Hey, Moses, my brother has been out this way before, and he says we’re headed right into the Red Sea. And, uh, I can’t swim that well.” “Moses, did we take a wrong turn somewhere back there?” “Hey, I realize that you said we should follow this cloud, but are you sure it’s leading us in the right direction?”

            I can see Moses just walking on, his eyes fixed to the cloud before Him.

            The thing the Israelites (and we) may not have realized is that God was saving them a lot of trouble by leading them to the water. The other option was war. Sure, God could have led them to victory, but I personally think that a bunch of angry people with weapons is a little scarier than the beach. God said, “If they face war, they might change their minds and return to Egypt” (vs. 17). I guess building pyramids is also on the list of things less scary than angry people with weapons.

            There’s another reason I think God might have led the people to the water instead of the warzone. If the Israelites had gone to war, God probably would have let them win. They were His chosen people, after all. But, it would be a lot easier to take credit for winning a war than moving a sea. It would be believable to say, “We defeated all these people. We are that good at warfare.” To say, “We moved all this water. We are that good at controlling nature.” is not so believable. There is no way the Israelites could have made a path through the Red Sea and then have the walls of water collapse at just the right moment for the Israelites to be safely across and the Egyptians to be crushed by the waves. That had to be God.

            God, like us, knows the end of the Israelite’s story. He knew the Israelites better than they knew themselves. The verse says that they were already dressed for battle. They thought that fighting Philistines was inevitable. But God realized that the Israelites were finicky. He also knew how much greater the story could be.

            The reason I like this passage so much is that I sometimes feel like I’m on a desert road. For example, I was prepared, after college, to become a wife and mother. I had heard all my life that it would happen that way. When the option of marriage failed to present itself, I was a little lost. I began to travel the desert road. I have wandered in unemployment and changing goals. So far my desert road has made me question God a few times, “Are you sure this is the right way?” I sometimes feel clueless, like I’m going toward the beach dressed in armor.

I have hope during my desert-road wandering, because God led the Israelites to the Red Sea. I am looking forward to witnessing my Red Sea. I think I can see the beach in the distance and I’m wondering what will happen when I get there. For now, I’m just trying not to offer God any advice or question where He’s leading me, because I’m sure He’s got something planned that’s better than anything I could have suggested.

"Are there any guys?"

This is the question my mother asks whenever I go to any new activities and/or places where I might meet anyone my age. 

I told her that all the people my age at my (temporary) workplace work in the other groups. She jumped straight to "You should have told them in the interview that you're looking for a mate." A mate. 

No, not someone to eat lunch with, someone to make fun of our co-workers with, a friend, a boyfriend, a fiance or even a husband--a mate. 

And people wonder why I take dating so seriously. I cannot just go get coffee with someone of the opposite sex. I am looking for a mate. Someone to be with forever and with whom I can procreate.* This is a little more difficult.

*This is, of course, according to my mother. Not my real views on dating. I have no problem with coffee (green tea frappaccinos) with someone of the opposite sex.