When Moses was getting ready for his forty-year journey in the wilderenss he asked God, who shall I say sent me, God replies: "Thus you shall say to the Israelites, 'The Lord, the God of your ancestors, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac and the God of Jacob, has sent me to you.'" (Exodus 3:15a) God was telling Moses that not only was he going into the wilderness with thousands of people from the 12 tribes of Israel but that they we also travelling with the forebearers who have gone before them and the descendents who will follow them.
Joan and I were reminded of this when we visited the Heifer International Center yesterday in Little Rock. We had ordered a brick to be placed in the plaza in front of the Heifer Education Center in honor of our parents, Bob and Carolyn and Jack and Almira. It was exciting to see the brick with their names inscribed on the walkway, since they are an implicit part of every journey of faith Joan and I take together. When we have gone in mission to Israel, Mexico and New Mexico, their influence is part of that journey. When we travelled to Germany to visit our son Stuart and his family or to England to celebrate our 25th Anniversary, we remember our families of origin who were willing to go on adventures as a family and experience different parts of the world. And as we serve the church in Wichita and Little Rock, we are walking in the footsteps of our parents who served God in churches everywhere they went.
And now our calling is to continue to share that faith with the generation to come so that they might not be afraid of the wildernesses that are ahead of them. Whether the wilderness is a country or city or town different from any we grew up in, we know that God is with us on that journey. With every different job experience and every new community we meet, God is there to nurture us,guide us and remind us that we are part of a larger community that includes those who have gone before us and those who will come after us.
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