Grumbling!

As most of you know we are living in our RV for a year touring around the USA. It has been fun. We are keeping a blog as a family: gforce-road-scholars.blogspot.com. I wrote this blog a while ago and thought it was a good one. I have tweaked it some, but it still hits a chord. Enjoy!

I have been observing my family these last few weeks and I notice A LOT of grumbling going on, myself included. You know what I mean, moaning, groaning, complaining - LOUDLY. But, there IS a lot to grumble about! HAHA!

There is so much change in our daily life, not to mention the crowded quarters and the fact that there are almost 3 (17, 15 and 12 1/2 ) teenagers living under one roof!But I don't like it. I don't like it when I hear myself talking that way, but even worse is hearing the kids talk that way. Truth be told, I am kinda a grumbler by nature. I am not necessarily unhappy, I just like the world to know things aren't perfect. :) Yes, a big flaw on my part. But to watch your kids "catch" what you have is , well, pretty ugly! You know they didn't learn that on their own, they had to get it from somewhere and this is one of the things I can't blame on my husband. He is not a grumbler at all.

Before we moved from Marquette our Pastor Brian spoke on grumbling during his sermon one Sunday. UGH! That was ugly! I kept shrinking lower and lower in the pew wondering if he was talking directly to me, if the kids saw their mother in his speaking or worse yet if the rest of the congregation knew he was speaking to me. Now in all fairness, I am sure Pastor Brian wasn't speaking directly to me as there are many grumblers in the world, but that particular sermon hit me right in the heart. YES! I am a grumbler!! It was hard to listen to, but worth it. I believe that we all need to hear about our faults every so often; just to keep our pride in check if nothing else. For me it was a painful day!! HA! But also a day of learning.

So, the other morning I was reading Exodus - isn't it funny how God knows exactly where you are, what you need to hear and how you can learn from it if you are willing to HEAR! Amazing, anyway - and here is our friend Moses. Man was he a grumbler and not just to anyone, he grumbled right to God. God asked him, came to him in a burning bush, spoke his name and actually had a conversation with Moses and what does Moses do? He complains about being asked to talk to the Israelites! "Oh Lord do I really have to talk to them, I am poor in speech...yada yada yada...." There are other times of grumbling by Moses and is shocks me each time I read about it. I mean it is one thing to grumble to a friend or spouse, but to God! OUT LOUD! Yikes!!

So what does an old man from the Old Testament have to teach us? For me, it is a reminder that God can use even the grumblers to show others His love for them. Maybe not while they are grumbling per say........

It is a comfort to me to see that God puts imperfect people in places of importance throughout the Bible. That he can use anyone, to do His work. PHEW! I thought my list of sins was too long :) It also amazes me that God can teach me, a woman, SO much through an old man! Really, God does this throughout the Bible. Just awesome! We can learn so much if we just open our eyes and ears to what He is trying to tell us. Many times it isn't who is bring the message as much as it is what they are saying!

The funny thing is, is that I think that maybe Moses' grumbling was catchy. The Israelites complained constantly throughout their years in the desert. Yes, there were many things to grumble about as they were stuck in a desert for what seemed like forever, but God was there. God saved them from slavery, got rid of the pursuing Egyptians, but there was constant grumbling. They were thirsty, God gave them water! They were hungry, God gave them food. But it was never enough, they wanted more or something different. God constantly showed his love to them yet all they could do was grumble, find something else to worship or yell at Moses. Why the constant grumbling, especially since God was right there, in a cloud, with them always! Can you imagine how awesome that would be? You would think that alone would stop the them from grumbling, but not the Israelites, they just kept at it.

Do you see where I am going with this? God is constantly showing His love to me and my family, yet we still grumble. He has blessed us beyond measure with a great family, a great extended family, wonderful friends and a roof over our heads. Not to mention my husbands pension, food, clothing,and........the list can go on for hours, months, days, even years, but still, I grumble, the kids grumble why? Well, I have all sorts of reasons why, mostly it comes down to the fact that we are sinners after all. We can't just stop at the snap of a finger and be someone different. But God can help us do that. He has the power and strength to help us to stop a behavior that is undesirable. The question is, will you call on Him to help you? Will you trust that He alone can help you stop a bad behavior and begin anew? Will you just let go and let God?

XO