Through Stained Glass: Painting Pictures of Egypt

 

Hey, how are you doing?

 

No, like, really—how are you doing?

 

It is okay to take off your mask—the one that has that painted on smile, the one that says, “I’m fine.”

 

Are you tired?

            Are you ‘over it’?

                        Are you anxious?

                                    Are you ‘hanging in there?’

                                                Are you ready to get back to normal?

                                                            Are you (insert whatever it is you are)….

 

I am all the things—and then some.

 

At times I have found myself longing for what normal was before COVID. I make statements about how I’m adapting to the new normal. And then I dream about what the next normal will be—in all its newness.

 

But then I read the Exodus story—and I see the Israelites wandering in the wilderness in their new normal—and they complain. I feel like them a lot of days. Then I remember something: Nostalgic longing for a misremembered history is a powerful and dangerous force, especially in an environment of scarcity and adversity. Their reality has changed, and the current 'new normal' isn't leaving them satisfied. So they do what anyone does when a negative experience impacts us, they complain. 

Amid their longing for 'the good old days,' God delivers them, fights for them, and then provides for them. God says, “You are more than what pharaoh limited you to be. Your worth isn't based on the number of bricks you produce in a day.” God gifts them precisely what they need as they move towards freedom. 

That's the thing about God--She isn't static. God isn't interested in remaining comfortable or preserving what's normal. God is dynamic, progressing God's creation towards the promise of restoration, and invites all the universe into the Divine Dance that is the Trinity. At the very least, the first two books of the Bible reveal this to us--that when things become normal, we better be ready to move!

It is easy to romanticize the past when things are hard. Right now, we are in a hard season. But the current reality is offering us an opportunity to evaluate what truly matters to us. We have been given the gift to create new rhythms and practices that return us to God. More importantly, I believe this current season gives us permission to let God love us as we are—without all the normal expectations put on us by ourselves or others. Maybe we long for Egypt because we could blend in better, and there wasn’t much required of us. Or, as the song suggests, we want Egypt’s normal because the things we’ve learned about ourselves [individually and communally] no longer fit with reality and, we know we have to change.

We can do hard things. 

Whether you're painting pictures of Egypt or packing your bag in anticipation of the new terrain that awaits us, God is with us--delivering, fighting, and providing for us exactly what we need. 

How am I doing? Better. Because I have God, I have you, and I have enough to get through this day.