I have been spending time these last weeks with the Book of Exodus, most specifically with Moses. We are about to have the installation of an art show based on the life of Moses and the Ten Commandments. I have to admit always loving this book of the Bible. It is, what is known in storytelling circles as, A Big Story. I love the characters, the drama, how you know what is going to happen before it does but you can’t stop the people from doing stupid things. Moses couldn’t. God couldn’t. And neither can the reader. It makes for perfect storytelling.

I picked up a book by Rabbi Harold Kushner that someone recommended to me when she found out I was mining the life of Moses. It iscalled Overcoming Life’s Disappointments. In the book Kushner uses the life of Moses and the Israelite people to help readers find some wisdom and balance in the inevitable disappointments that come with living.He writes about his book: "It is a tribute to the human quality of imagination, the ability to dream and to envision a better world than the one we live in, and to the human quality of resilience, the ability to go on bravely when those dreams don’t come true."

Moses is given a thankless job in so many ways. Only Charlton Heston could make it look good. He was entrusted with a group of whining, quarrelsome, nagging people who wanted someone to take all the responsibility but also wanted things to turn out just the way they thought they should. Not an easy leadership gig. Ever been in this situation?

Moses finds himself leading this group reluctantly. He tried to convince God that he was definitely not the person for the job. He tried to point out other people who would be so much better.Sound familiar? But in the end, the Holy One’s confidence in him prevailed and he heads out into the wilderness.

Ahh, yes, the wilderness…where seas must be crossed, and plagues must be overcome, and food falls from the sky. Moses, the reluctant prophet, slowly begins to take on the role that has been given him. Through it all he has high moments of revelation and very low moments of despair and great anger.

The catch? God promises to be with him, traveling right along side him, no matter what. Even when dreams were lost, when disappointment threatened to overwhelm him, Moses knew that right there, a breath away, was the One who had birthed him and pulled him out of the waters of his mother’s womb.

The gift of Moses’ story?  It teaches us so much about our own.

"She named him Moses, ‘because,’she said, "I drew him out of the water." Exodus 2:10