When will your Moses experience come? Obeying a call.

a burning bush :)

I was preparing the Sunday School lesson for my 3-5th graders this week. We've been studying the life of Moses and in this week's lesson, there is a story of a small boy in Pakistan, Sajid they called him (his name was changed to protect him) who is working full-time, 6 days a week, at the tender age of 12, building bricks. He gets $2.08 for 1000 bricks. (Think about that the next time you put in a patio. That's a lot of bricks for very little money.) In the story, his mother says something to him about them being in a similar position to the Israelites. And Sajid wonders when their Moses will come. And that struck me. Do we all have our Moses moments? Was there some place in my life where I was feeling called to bring freedom/liberation? Do I feel ill-equipped to make it happen? Do I think there are others who could do a much better job of bringing about freedom/liberation?

The answer came instantly. Yes.

A few years ago, and I've shared this before, I started learning about this group of women that were not just asked, but forced, to surrender their children for adoption because the powers-that-be deemed it the best situation for all involved. And these women, the mothers of these babies, have been largely held captive by what they were forced to endure. There are a lot of women in need of liberation. They need others to hear their story. They need to be validated. They need to hear from the public, and more importantly- their perpetrators, that what happened to them was wrong.

I feel inadequate. Who am I to do this? But like Moses, I feel like I was born into a place where I have compassion for these women, in addition to having enough resources to do something about it. Until now, it seems like the "Israelites" in this situation have largely been speaking out amongst themselves, but they can't quite get "Pharaoh" to listen. That's where I feel like I come in. Not because I'm particularly eloquent or that I'm mighty or that I'm the best person for the job, but because I've heard God's call on my heart to speak out about this.

And with God's help, this novel I'm working on will get written. I have no grandiose aspirations that it will become a blockbuster hit and be read by millions. And that's not what it needs to do. If it reaches the right hearts at the right times, then maybe some reconciliation and some liberating will finally take place. That is my hope. The hope that is bigger than I'm able to turn into reality on my own.

In my heart, I always gave Moses a hard time. What an excuse maker! But here I am. Well over two years from the time I started writing this novel and I am all hung up on small details and I have let myself get bogged down there once again.

But I can't stay here, in the bog. It's time to dive into the rest of the book and get it out, regardless of how many plagues get thrown in along the way. I've been given an assignment. And because these women are my people, too- I have to press on.

For the next 40 days, there will be no TV (for me). Why TV? Because it's the start of a new season and it's far too easy for me to get distracted and lose time, especially at the end of the day when I'm tired. Instead, I will make as much headway as I can towards the completion of this novel. And for those of you who pray, I'd appreciate your support in prayer as I work towards this.

I'd also encourage you to think about how you might be called to be a Moses in your own life. If you've got a Moses experience, I'd love to hear about it.