Sweet water

 Exodus 15:23-25. Common English Bible

23. When they came to Marah, they couldn’t drink Marah’s water because it was bitter. That’s why it was called Marah. 24 The people complained against Moses, “What will we drink?” 25 Moses cried out to the Lord, and the Lord pointed out a tree to him. He threw it into the water, and the water became sweet.

I love the miracles in the Bible.  I firmly believe in miracles and I believe that they do still happen.   It would be so awesome if God would just point out a way to sweeten whatever is bitter in my life.  I could say, “That thing is too hard!  Whatever shall I do?” and God would be all, “Just do thus and so, and it will be totally fixed.”  Yay, God!  

Yes, that would be awesome, and I would have learned nothing from the experience.  The things I learn the most from are the things that are hardest for me to do, things that cause the most pain.  If I could just rely on God to fix everything, or give me specific step by step instructions for every difficult situation I encounter, my spiritual life would be that of a child - if that child had a parent who never took the training wheels off that first bicycle. 

What God does do, however, is make sure I have access to people who can help me learn how to do that next difficult thing.   Not just official type teachers, but friends, classmates, 12 Step Sponsors, work colleagues, even random individuals who teach me important lessons - like what true generosity is, learned by watching a homeless person share one burrito with two friends who didn’t have anything to eat. 

God doesn’t give me step by step instructions, but God does make sure I have access to the tools and the knowledge that I need to do whatever it is that needs doing in my life, then leaves it up to me whether or not I will pay attention.  People I trusted told me how important prayer is, and that all you have to do in praying is talk to God as if God is a person. But I only knew how to pray the prayers I had memorized, and I wasn’t sure I believed God listened.  Then a difficult situation put me on my knees and I cried out for help from the depths of my heart. I poured out my pain, as if speaking with a trusted friend.  When I was finished, I felt heard.

I guess, in retrospect, God does point out ways to sweeten the bitter in my life - just not quite as clearly as the instructions that were given to Moses.  

Dear God, thank you, for all the people and the lessons you have put in my life to help me grow.  Thank you for listening, and for not just handing me the answers.  Amen.