Figuring it out

Bloggers note: This is a blog from a couple of months back that somehow I forgot to post

I used to have a supervisor in North Carolina who, when I described an unfortunate situation, would always say "It's not as bad as a kick in the teeth, is it?" Well, I have to say, this one hit me almost like that.

So, we were milling around saying our good-byes to the village of Taiama, Sierra Leone on a Wednesday morning when Christiana, the head nurse, came to me and said "Craig, you are bringing Moringa trees? I have Moringa seeds." I said, "Where did you get Moringa seeds?" the reply was "From the Moringa tree right there." Now, In case you haven't read the previous entries about my trees planting project, now would be the time... I'll wait right here while you do that. {Jeopardy music playing} I did the research on the trees that were offered me for sale by the Kakua Educative Tree Seed Orchard (KETSO) and discovered that the Moringa was a God-send tree that held fabulous potential for the farm and nutrition projects in Taiama. So, I arragned to purchase 100 of these trees, among others, which wasn't easy given the poor internet availability there and the distance, etc. Well, that was in place, deposit paid, everything arragned for their delivery in May when the kick in the teeth came. Right outside the building we were in was three Moringa trees. Now it wasn't really that big of a blow, but I can remember it vividly. It was like I was watching a movie. All that work, all that money raised, all that time invested, and there in the front yard of the nurses building was a Moringa. Not only that, but a Moringa tree big enough to be producing seeds and big enough from which to take cuttings. Turns out there are two other younger ones nearby as well. So, for a little while, I felt like a complete dolt. I paid for, and brought them something they already had.

Ahh, but fast forward to last night at our Wednesday evening class at church. Dr. Rob pointed out that, in the story of Moses's confrontation with Pharaoh, he had to cast his staff down in order for it to become a serpent. Given what the staff represents to the shepard (which is what Moses was) that was no small thing. The staff was the defining symbol of a shepard; it was the single most useful tool of his trade; it was an extension of himself. The staff represented him. Symbolically, he was casting himself down... giving himself up, in order to accomplish that which God had planned for him. It would not become a serpent while the held on to it. It would not become a serpent until he cast it down, until he took himself out of the picture. Never mind that Pharaohs magicians did the same thing with their dark arts, Moses's serpent consumed theirs (now there's a sermon for you).

Enlightened, and now heartened, I see that, though there are already a few Moring trees there, God intended me to bring some. Possibly He did it for me as much as for them. I had to cast myself down, go "all in" as my best friend Rob would say, in order to accomplish that which God had planned for me. I am humbled that He would choose me, and I am anxious to see what he has planned for those trees!