Moses'
Guide
Elizabeth had a very tight group of friends whom she had known since
grade school. In total, there were eleven of them. The
dream team is
what they called themselves, and everyone at school knew who they
were. But lately, the dream team was beginning to fall
apart. Now
that they had been in high school for a few months and started to meet
many new, interesting people, they were finding themselves getting
pulled apart.
One day at lunch, Elizabeth walked up to the
cafeteria table where the dream team always ate. She overheard
six of
her friends talking about these new guys they had met and were
interested in hanging out with more. Elizabeth wondered why she
hadn't
met these guys yet. Then she figured it out. The new guys
they were
talking about were the stereotypical druggies at the school.
Elizabeth
didn't know if they were in fact on drugs, but she had her
suspicions.
She asked her friends where they were meeting after school that day,
and they blew her off. She came right out and asked them if they
had
started doing drugs since they were meeting with these guys. She
was
shocked when they openly admitted that they were in fact taking drugs
after school and had been for a couple of weeks now.
Elizabeth
just left the table and found the other four members of the dream
team. They were as shocked as Elizabeth. That night they
decided to
go home and think about the best solution for the group.
Elizabeth
knew the solution...she had to end the dream team if all of the members
weren't on
board with the decision not to do drugs. But could she do that,
just
leave the friends she had loved for so many years now?, She knew
that
life changes, but she was really upset about losing her friends.
She
feel asleep, feeling very restless that night.
Elizabeth's guardian angel
understood the difficult time she was going through and knew the
perfect story to make her feel confident in her decision. That
night
Elizabeth had a dream that answered her questions....
...It
was the year 1275 B.C. when the Israelites were fleeing from Egypt
under the leadership of Moses. Moses had been chosen by God to
deliver
His
people from the hands of the Egyptians. The Egyptian Pharaoh had
refused to release the Israelites from their suffering as slaves and in
return God plagued Egypt with ten deadly plagues. Following the
final
plague which killed the Pharaoh's first born son, the Pharaoh released
the Israelites. However, a few days after their flight from
Egypt,
the
Pharaoh changed his mind and sent his army to kill them. The army
caught up to the Israelites at the Red Sea. God parted the Red
Sea to
allow the Israelites to pass through, but when the Egypt army was
crossing through the sea, God let the water flow again, killing the
army and saving the Israelites. Now, Moses and his people were
trekking across the scorching, dry desert suffering from lack of food
and water. Moses prayed to God for assistance and guidance in
their
time of desperation. God sent Moses an angel to direct and guide
their
journey.
In her dream, Elizabeth heard a
mysterious voice say,"Behold, I send an angel before you,
to guard you on
the way and to bring you to the place which I have prepared." (Exodus
23:20-22)
God
gave Moses strict instructions to adhere to His angel's guidance and
direction. He promised the Israelites protection from their
enemies,
food and water for their survival, and a safe deliverance if they
worshiped Him alone. There were mishaps along the way that
angered God, such as the Israelites worshiping a golden cafe.
However, God was
merciful to His people and forgave them after Moses interceded on their
behalf. At last, the angel led Moses and the Israelites to their
new
home where they were free to live and to pray to God who delivered them
from the evil hands of the Egyptians...
...groggy
the next morning from such a restless night's sleep, Elizabeth got out
of
bed. When she was brushing her teeth, she remembered the dream
she
had
had that night. She thought, "If Moses was able to trust in God
and
believe that everything would be alright, I can too. After all,
Moses and the Israelites had left their home and lives behind to escape
from a life that they knew wasn't right for them." Elizabeth saw
the
connection to her own life. She and her other friends would be
just
fine if they stopped hanging out with the rest of the dream team who
had started to take drugs. She would be better off in the end for
doing what she knew was right. Elizabeth thanked her guardian
angel
for guiding her in her life.
Author's Note: If you have ever
found yourself in a situation similar to Elizabeth's or Moses' where a
life-changing decision must be made, remember this story. Both
characters had to guide their followers or friends along a path that
was hard, but in the end they were all better for it. Moses'
story is
from the Bible, and I added a brief synopsis of the historical facts
leading up to the Israelites' departure to set the scene. I have
put
the story in my own words, but kept the content true to the original
story.
Bibliography: King James
Bible. Exodus
Chapter 23. University of
Virginia Library.
Image Information: Moses' Crossing the Red Sea. The Mud Preacher.
2008. Weblink.