Pharaoh
then commanded all his people, “You must throw every son born to the Hebrews
into the Nile, but let every daughter live.”
Exodus 1:22(CSB)
One of the things about a tough life is the need to
"start over".
If you read the book of Exodus, you'll find Moses doing that
quite significantly. He started over before he knew it, born to a Jewish
family in a very dangerous time to be a Jew...his mother chose to give her son
a start-over by floating him down the river into Pharaoh's family, the same
despot who ordered all the Jewish babies in the land to be slaughtered.
Moses grew up in Pharaoh's house as a son, and heir to the
throne. But at 40 he learned the truth about where he came from and
started-over (in his new start he became a murderer...not a great new career,
but that's another story). Banned from home for his bad deeds, he
wandered through the desert, settling into being a sheep herder on the back
side of nowhere for the next forty years, until that burning bush moment when
God spoke to him about starting over...at 80. And the rough road was just
beginning.
Do you have "rocky road" kinds of experiences in
your life's story? You know...the kind of thing that takes your breath
away and makes you wonder "what in the world?"
I've got more than a few of those stories, and it simply
amazes me how often there is a passage in Scripture that would not have to be
changed to be an accurate re-telling of Russell's rocky road.
And that's what Rocky Road Devotions is all about - how the
Bible connects with us - our thoughts, our loved ones, our desires, stupid
mistakes, and heartfelt longing to know the answer to three important questions
which affect everything we do, say, and even think as we plod/rush/laugh/cry
through this life, and try to figure out what's next.
Here are those three questions:
1. Where did I come from (and how did I get here) in this
life?
2. What is my purpose while I am here in this life?
3. Where am I going when I leave this life?
What I've found out in nearly eight decades of trying to
make sense of those three questions is what the last ten years have painted in
my life...broad strokes, experiences that I have loved, hated, and which have
clearly separated a lot of the meaningless fluff things this life can offer
from the genuinely important/vital issues that are worthy of any human being's
full attention.
Here's my beginning point for sharing my Rocky Road life
with you.
My deepest heart-felt hope is that something shared here
about my fairly ordinary life, from a humble dirt road beginning in a good
family, to (what now is) a late-fall season of life, might resonate with
something you're either going through, or have faced, or which may be on your
radar for the near future. And that these times of sharing may lead to
God's help for understanding how all three of those vital questions are alive,
well, and extremely important in your life, and the human community of which
you're a part.
For You Today
My story started this way: In the beginning
God created...; and so did yours!
If you are facing starting over…either late in life or much earlier…stay
tuned as we explore what the Bible says
about what we’re going through, and what He shows us that will help us on this Rocky Road of
life.
[1] Title and Other Images: Pixabay.com Unless noted, Scripture quoted from The Christian Standard Bible©
