Sights and Insights
Devotion for Feb. 9, 2021
And he orders you to gather about two quarts for each person in your family—that should be more than enough.” They did as they were told. Some gathered more and some gathered less,according to their needs, and none was left over. Moses told them not to keep any overnight. 20 Some of them disobeyed, but the next morning what they kept was stinking and full of worms, and Moses was angry. Each morning everyone gathered as much as they needed, and in the heat of the day the rest melted. – Exodus 16:16-21 (CEV)
With the big snow last week, the four of us built a big snowman together. It was almost six feet tall. Well, it was not exactly a snowman. It was more of a snow insect. We included a thorax and six legs made out of sticks. It was a good way to enjoy the snow together. After we built it, each day as I have looked out on it, the top layers are clearly sliding to one side. As it melts, it leans a little more each day. We made sure that the foundation was solid, and so the bottom two balls of snow are locked into place. The upper ones, though, are less anchored. Sooner or later, it is going to tip over and come crashing down. It is sad to see it slowly slip away. Then again, snow creatures are never expected to last long. They are immense fun, but their time to shine is brief. That makes them all the more exciting to enjoy while they are around.
In our often busily planned lives, the joy of the snow creature is that it demands immediacy. It is to be enjoyed in the here and now. We can’t plan to carve out time three weeks from now to enjoy having a snow creature around; when the moment is right we need to do it. So often we are caught up in the plans of what is to come and the memories of what has already happened. A few minutes in the snow can be just what we needed to get back to the joy of the moment in front of us.
When God gave the people of Israel wandering in the wilderness manna to eat, Moses told them to take only enough for the day. They were not to hoard it and save up for the next day. They were to trust that God would still provide tomorrow. They were to keep their focus on the day that they were living. Yet many could not help themselves, and took more than was needed for a day so that they would be sure they would eat in the future. Yet the extra did not keep, but became full of worms. Just like a snow creature, the manna disappeared in the sun of the day. The people needed to trust that God would take care of tomorrow when tomorrow came. It is a good reminder for us all.