6 Months in California

From the wilderness of Sin the whole congregation of the Israelites journeyed by stages, as the LORD commanded. They camped at Rephidim, but there was no water for the people to drink. The people quarreled with Moses, and said, "Give us water to drink." Moses said to them, "Why do you quarrel with me? Why do you test the LORD?" But the people thirsted there for water; and the people complained against Moses and said, "Why did you bring us out of Egypt, to kill us and our children and livestock with thirst?" So Moses cried out to the LORD, "What shall I do with this people? They are almost ready to stone me." The LORD said to Moses, "Go on ahead of the people, and take some of the elders of Israel with you; take in your hand the staff with which you struck the Nile, and go. I will be standing there in front of you on the rock at Horeb. Strike the rock, and water will come out of it, so that the people may drink." Moses did so, in the sight of the elders of Israel. He called the place Massah and Meribah, because the Israelites quarreled and tested the LORD, saying, "Is the LORD among us or not?" -Exodus 17:1-7 (NRSV)

I've been meditating on this scripture for the last few days. I have come to realize that, in SO many ways, I am like the Israelites. They wanted to be free and God gave them Moses to guide them out of Egypt. What happens next? They start complaining! I think we can all be like this in some way or another. For me, I wanted our family to be back together. God orchestrated the plan of plans: I was able to transfer all of my credits, we found the perfect house to rent, a couple of my family members moved out with us and we had so many people help us when we got to California. All God's work, nothing that we could have accomplished on our own... it would NOT have been so perfect. We prayed for something new and God blessed it and put forth His plan.

After being here for six months, I'm finding that some of the things are not going as smooth as I would have liked them to be. Making friends is a little hard (I got trust issues) and the school that I'm in has an inadequate administration. But does that mean that the plan that God set forth was a mistake? NO! He doesn't make mistakes! But I really questioned whether or not God was with us... with me. Why would I question that? I had lost faith because things weren't going the way I wanted them to, just like the Israelites. It wasn't smooth sailing and it wasn't as easy as pie, so clearly God had left our situation... WRONG!

I can see now that God is working on my character through the tough situations. He is working on my patience (ALWAYS) and He is working on my ability to love unconditionally. So now that I see that, maybe things will go smoother... LOL! Nope! I am a work in progress, a masterpiece that God is creating and I will give Him free reign!