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Keeping An Eye On The Pillar of Cloud and the Pillar of Fire

             Whenever the cloud lifted from above the tent, the Israelites set out; wherever the cloud settled, the Israelites encamped.  At the Lord’s command the Israelites set out, and at his command they encamped. As long as the cloud stayed over the tabernacle, they remained in camp.  When the cloud remained over the tabernacle a long time, the Israelites obeyed the Lord’s order and did not set out.  Sometimes the cloud was over the tabernacle only a few days; at the Lord’s command they would encamp, and then at his command they would set out. Sometimes the cloud stayed only from evening till morning, and when it lifted in the morning, they set out. Whether by day or by night, whenever the cloud lifted, they set out.  Whether the cloud stayed over the tabernacle for two days or a month or a year, the Israelites would remain in camp and not set out; but when it lifted, they would set out. At the Lord’s command they encamped, and at the Lord’s command they set out. They obeyed the Lord’s order, in accordance with his command through Moses. (Numbers 9:17-23)

          Can you imagine? The pillar of fire or pillar of cloud settles down over the tabernacle and you stop hiking along and set up camp. At first, how many times per hour do you look to see what the pillar is doing? How long before you stop looking, only to hear someone shout at you, “Pack up! The pillar has risen!” You may have been next to a garbage dump, or you might have had the best campsite of anyone, but who can say what you’ll get next time?

          I think I’d have been in a constant state of anxiety. I don’t like surprises. If you want me to be ready to leave at a specific time on a specific day, that’s fine, as long as you give me at least three-days notice. In fact, I threatened my parents that if they showed up without giving me that three-days notice that they would find the house a mess. It wasn’t that the house was necessarily a mess, but asking politely didn’t seem to get the idea across to Dad.

          In my comings and goings, God has been polite. The worst surprises I’ve gotten was the year that I had to put off leaving for a few days because of snow in the mountains, and the year that Dad decided we needed to leave in the middle of September instead of the beginning of October. I don’t recall exactly when he decided it, but I think I still had a week or two to get ready, and then we took a different route to sneak down in front of a very slow-moving hurricane.

          Unless something happens, there’s no surprise this year. I have more than three weeks to get ready to leave, and except for setting up appointments and changing addresses, it really doesn’t take more than six days: one or two to break down camp, two to travel, and one or two to set up camp again. But, already I'm already looking toward the “tabernacle” with squinty eyes, saying, “Don’t you dare lift. I’m not ready. I have things to do before we leave!”

          And what do I have to do? I have lots to weed so that they can become a weedy mess again before the owners get back next fall. I have trips I’m planning to take to give myself a break from weeding. I have stuff I have to use up. Oh, and I have a book to finish listening to so I can say I finished. I’m not enjoying it, and I have no doubt that I could find it up north, too.

          Nope, I don’t like surprises, because surprises mean I’m not in control, and yet, that’s the point. I’m not supposed to be in control. I’m supposed to be keeping an eye on that pillar of fire or pillar of cloud and setting up or breaking up “camp” – whatever camp may be – according to His leading.

          We all do it. Emergency preparedness teachers tell us that we should have bug-out or go bags virtually packed so that we can have everything we’ll need – possibly everything that’s important to us – in a vehicle and on the road in whatever too-short time period we’re allowed. Could we really be ready for an emergency? Could we be ready to follow whatever God tells us to do?

          Over the past year, I’ve been working on being more resourceful, more practically capable. I think that’s a good thing. But I find myself wondering whether I don’t also need to become more resilient, more flexible, more willing to watch the pillar of fire and the pillar of cloud without squinting and saying, “Don’t you dare lift. I’m not ready. I have things to do before we leave!” And maybe part of that involves getting priorities set so that I keep the important stuff done in case a surprise comes along.

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