2014 has been an easier year at school. I have been a slow learner, however, and though I well recognise the lessons set for this year I cannot claim to have mastered them yet. There is a time for everything (Ecclesiastes 3) and we live through many seasons in life. My mother, a wise friend, has often impressed on me the importance of living each season fully and embracing the growth it brings. This year has been a season of waiting in most spheres of my life. Seasons of waiting bring lessons of patience. In a quick paced world lessons of patience are not easy to grasp.
I have often remembered the time of the biblical Exodus and when Moses led the Israelites out of Egypt to years of wandering in the desert. The bit that always struck me was a couple of lines at the beginning of the account: "When Pharaoh finally let the people go, God did not lead them along the main road that runs through Philistine territory, even through that was the shortest route to the Promised Land. God said, "If the people are faced with a battle, they might change their minds and return to Egypt." So God led them in a roundabout way through the wilderness toward the Red Sea." (Exodus 13:17, 18a)
God had a purpose when He led the Israelites the longer way. They were compelled to learn lessons of trusting His plans and depending on Him for their every need. I always thought that I depended on my Teacher for everything and I have always asked that He bring my will in line with His. The hardest lesson during this season of waiting was discovering that while this was intellectually true, deep down inside I still needed to learn to trust my Teacher, to depend entirely on Him, to recognise that His timing, while not mine, is perfect and to ask for the patience I need to be content with the many blessings He has already given me.
As always, this post is vague. But then, as always, perhaps it was never really written for you. So, to end on a more definite note, below is a picture of a fried quail's egg (it is the little things that mark milestones) and here are some of the many blessings that I can count from 2014: close-knit family, loving friends, supportive church, my job, a piano (finally!), a warm flat, travel and new places (the Shire!!), whatsapp with my grand uncle (at 89!) and finally, the lessons of a Teacher who loved me enough to give His life for me.
Happy 2015!
