meat instead of manna

The other night I stumbled upon the History Channel's "The Bible" series, or as my mom likes to call it, the "Kung-Fu-Bible." Yes, there's a fair share of Hollywood, ninja-violence but hey, the Bible really does has its fair share of appropriate killing off of groups of people partaking in debauchery. Anyways, moving on.

So, we've made it through Noah, Abraham, and are currently working through Moses's life. Dude, Moses was pretty much your Joe-Schmoe kind of guy. When asked to lead God's people out of Egypt he pretty much asked God to pick someone else. And when he succeeded, and the Israelites turned into a gaggle of whiners in the desert, Moses asked God again why the heck he had to babysit a bunch of morons and couldn't he give the task the someone else so he didn't have to do it alone?  

And let's talk about the Israelites themselves for a second... they were incredibly oppressed by the Egyptians for hundreds of years in miserable slavery, crying out for salvation. When God answered their cries, redeeming them and defeating their foes, they were so quick to turn on him because when they lived in Egypt they had access to meat, garlic, and leeks. No joke. They conveniently forgot how oppressive their lives were under Egyptian rule and ended up being pissed off at God for only providing manna every morning. 

I find myself irritated at the Israelites' discomfort, even when food was provided for them daily and they were brought out of slavery. But then I'm also struck by the thought of how I would react in their situations... sure, I'm provided bread every morning but after years of the same thing, I think I would get fussy as well. And forty years? Okay, maybe I would be a little peeved that God wasn't pulling through like He promised. 40 years is a long time to wait for anything... it's been a month since we were supposed to find out where we're being moved, and I'd consider myself perturbed over the situation. 

Anyways, God gifted them with more meat than they could ever hope for, so much so that they were sick of it. And honestly, this happens in my life as well. I beg and crave a particular 'something' that I'm convinced will bring happiness and yet when it arrives, I'm left feeling jaded and used.  

Only God can fill the empty, lonely spaces. In my head, I know this, but sometimes my heart takes longer to catch up. 

I'm pretty sure most of the pictures I post are of clouds. From this exact spot.

 I can't help it-- I'm always stunned by their beauty and the calmness the twilight represents. 

I challenge you to seek out ways to be filled this week in lasting ways, (I don't mean catching up on Downton Abbey, which I may or may not be obsessed with...) Visit your favorite spots (mine's my hammock and Vilano Beach.) Drink wine with your favorite friends (Thursday and Friday? Yes, please.) Read a book. Run. Write happiness into the world. Snuggle with your dog. Eat healthy dinners that you took the time to make. Create something.

These are the things that fill my soul... your turn!