Lent – Day 30: “They complained against God and Moses…”

Numbers 21: 4 – 9

The worst thing that can ever happen to us as human beings is when we forget the miracles that have brought us to this point in our life. This happens when we allow misfortune to rob us of the value of what we have and of who we are. The people complained against God and Moses on the Red Sea road. Their eyes were already blind to what the Red Sea should have symbolized for them. They allowed their tiredness and frustration to rob them of who they have become. Even the bread that once gave them life now became the source of their complaint and frustration. Sometimes this happens to us. We sometimes live as if God has never answered our prayers and we begin to live ungratefully. An ungrateful life is a meaningless one. So before we complain today that I do not have a house; I do not have a car; I do not have a child; I do not have a male or a female child; I do not have a visa; I do not have a job; or I do not have a friend, let us stop and see how far we have travelled, let us become aware of the miracles that have brought us here. Keep a list, if you must, of your answered prayers and let it remind you that you are the product of a miracle.

Sometimes, it takes a fiery serpent to wake us up from the sleep of ingratitude. This fiery serpent or events remind us of what we have and of what we have taken for granted. It is interesting to note that the Red Sea, the symbol of their liberation did not remind them of their worth and blessings. It took a misfortune, a calamity to remind them of what they are giving away and of what they are missing.  We are often quicker to remember a misfortune than a miracle.

May God give us the grace to live a life of gratitude and to be aware of the blessings that we are. May God bless you all.