No Longer in Egypt - says the big boy

This morning we are continuing our series in worship – Down By the Riverside. We explore God’s revelatory power in the Red Sea as he frees the Israelites, finally, from the Pharaoh’s arrogance and enslavement. The following story is one reflection on how we often engage our worlds…..

Anxiety – worrying about the things you can’t change

Arrogance – controlling the past things only God can change.

In Exodus, God reveals amidst Israel’s anxiety and Egypt’s arrogance.

Friday morning - Micah gave up his “nooks” otherwise known as a pacifier. It was a big deal. Now Micah would never have his pacifier during his daily goings-on, but at naptime and nighttime, the grand search and recovery for the nook was imperative. Without it there was no sleep – for Micah, daddy or mommy.

But on Friday morning, Micah told his mommy that he was willing to throw out his nooks; this was an ongoing conversation for the last 6 months. Micah knew that giving them up meant that he could buy a big boy scooter. We agreed to the decision as a family and proceeded to Target – home of the Buzz Lightyear Big Boy Scooter and Helmet (safety first).

We arrived at Target, confronted the trash can, and Micah, himself, tossed the plastic preoccupations into the trash – We were victorious – it was his first escape from Egypt.

There we were, Micah and I, hemmed in the aisles of Target, and we strutted all through the aisles searching for the Toy Story Trophy. We found it, alongside the helmet, and we proceeded to the checkout (via diapers, hair gel, and various sundry items). We returned home half-past dark, and immediately put together the scooter…. Within 3 minutes (or an hour) the scooter was assembled and Micah, with helmet strapped, cruised around the dining room on his new Buzz Lightyear Scooter. It was a taste of the Promise Land – huu-rah!

After another hour of riding, it was time for bed. I was putting Madeline to bed when I heard sobs of anxiety and misery from the other room, “I want my nooks…. Please get my nooks… why did we do that ,…. mommy help me….” Lindsay said that he was almost asleep before the tears started, but as she was leaving his bedside, he said with wide eyes of concern, “Oh No – my nooks.” The misery ensued.

I entered the room amidst an inch of watershed collecting on the floor from the eyes of a little boy.

I sat beside him and asked, “Should we take the Scooter back and retrieve the nooks.” I was sure he would say, “No,” for he already bonded with the Scooter.

I was wrong. In as clear a voice as a sobbing three year old could muster he said, “Yes, daddy, take it back. I want my nooks.”

Clear as day – he said to me –

“Daddy, Egypt wasn’t that bad! Let’s go back! Back there: I could sleep, you could sleep, and everyone got along when I had my nooks. Now look at us – all three of us in this wilderness of nookless bedtime, and no one is sleeping – my sheets are wet with tears, you and mommy are stressed out – let’s go back to the way it used to be!”

Mom and dad persevered – we saw the Sea of promise ahead of us – we knew he could cross it, and sure enough 45 minutes later – near 9:45 – our little boy was fast asleep.

When he woke up the next morning at 6:15 am, he came downstairs to celebrate. We did it – we made it through.

Micah and I got dressed, strapped on the helmet and walked through our neighborhood wilderness and feasted on Luisa’s donuts. We waltzed with tambourine (scooter bell) in hand and sang Miriam’s song…. “Sing to the Lord, for he has triumphed gloriously.”

Micah spent Saturday playing on his new scooter – confident, joyous, and proud – seeing that being a Big Boy is ahead... Last night, he entered slumber quickly and easily without one memory of Egypt!

‘Do not be afraid, stand firm, and see the deliverance that the Lord will accomplish for you today; for the Egyptians whom you see today you shall never see again. The Lord will fight for you, and you have only to keep still.’