proved true

this morning the familiar story of joseph comforts me. he got it right, he knew the deal but was young and untested, unproven. he made the grevious error of presuming others would be as thrilled with the promise of the Lord as he.

the liturgy goes on,

God sent one ahead in slavery

so when all the bad stuff happened, joseph would be in place. then,

the word of the LORD proved him true

that story appeals to me because it is the story of an innocent exile (or more innocent than mine). it is the tale of how bad things happen to good people. sure joseph was young and bold, but it wasn't his fault his dad made him a cool coat and displayed his favour so obviously. so the kid has a dream and it all goes south from there.

or does it?

my dear editor friend gave a lecture, which she sent to me and asks,

it looks like joseph's path was all convoluted (she said it vastly more elegantly than i), but it was the path he needed to take.

i have counted the times joseph wept when meeting with his brothers. five times. five times he wept. the lesson to me there is, even when we are seated in the seat of honor, fulfilling the plan and purpose for our lives, we will still weep. we will still grieve. we will not forget the lessons of darkness.

my life feels like its at the later part of the dungeon, where i keep hearing promises of being remembered (i can't tell you how many people have promised me this or that in terms of writing. long story short, say nothing if you can't fulfill it). yet years pass, and i keep tending the dungeon. chief slave is still a slave.

but liberation is coming. i can feel it. i can see it. the king is getting restless and having bad dreams. time for God to do His thing.

because it was not joseph who interpreted those dreams, it was God who gave the interpretation. it will not be me who does anything spectacular, it will be God who gifts me spectacular things.

i look forward to the day God proves me true.