In the desert the whole community grumbled against Moses and Aaron. The Israelites said to them, “If only we had died by the Lord’s hand in Egypt! There we sat around pots of meat and ate all the food we wanted, but you have brought us out into this desert to starve this entire assembly to death.”
Then the Lord said to Moses, “I will rain down bread from heaven for you. The people are to go out each day and gather enough for that day. In this way I will test them and see whether they will follow my instructions.
- Exodus 16:2-4
That night all the members of the community raised their voices and wept aloud. All the Israelites grumbled against Moses and Aaron, and the whole assembly said to them, “If only we had died in Egypt! Or in this wilderness! Why is the Lord bringing us to this land only to let us fall by the sword? Our wives and children will be taken as plunder. Wouldn’t it be better for us to go back to Egypt?” And they said to each other, “We should choose a leader and go back to Egypt.”
- Numbers 14:1-4
not one of those who saw my glory and the signs I performed in Egypt and in the wilderness but who disobeyed me and tested me ten times—not one of them will ever see the land I promised on oath to their ancestors. No one who has treated me with contempt will ever see it.
- Numbers 14:22-23
We have sinned, even as our ancestors did;
we have done wrong and acted wickedly.
When our ancestors were in Egypt,
they gave no thought to your miracles;
they did not remember your many kindnesses,
and they rebelled by the sea, the Red Sea.
- Psalm 106:6-7
Do everything without grumbling or arguing, so that you may become blameless and pure, “children of God without fault in a warped and crooked generation.” Then you will shine among them like stars in the sky as you hold firmly to the word of life. And then I will be able to boast on the day of Christ that I did not run or labor in vain.
- Philippians 2:14-16
A month ago, I was in Tennessee for a week. I will have a trip report later on, but during that trip, my granddaughter had her last middle school band concert, possibly the last time she would play the clarinet at school. She has joined the church orchestra, having competed at the state level against the best of Tennessee’s clarinetists. She is good. But she will not play with the high school band.
But I was not prepared for the gathering of children and packing them away in the car.
What I was unaware of was that her best friend was moving to Florida in a couple of weeks.
To explain that trauma, my granddaughter is extremely introverted. That is one reason that she cannot stand her little brother. His favorite habit is to try to get inside your skin, pressing against you is not good enough. I may write a lot about that in the future. But as an introvert, she does not make friends easily. When she found one friend who was just as introverted as she was, they bonded deeply. There were a couple of neighbors of this friend who would tag along, but my granddaughter and this friend were inseparable.
With the high school having 450+ graduates this year, you are looking at possibly 2000 children on the campus. Without some kind of connecting interest, they might never have a class together anyway, but they could have sleepovers and catch up. They were both in the band, and both had decided not to continue in the band in high school. They both wanted to gravitate toward the color guard. The explanation is that the band director is openly gay and the band performances promote the Woke agenda, insulting nearly everyone when they perform, but the color guard simply twirls flags while everyone else is performing the Woke agenda. Lame argument, but that is how these teenagers had resolved the issue.
Now, as they gathered in the lobby outside the auditorium – a different school auditorium, since theirs was not large enough – common theme for this school system… Anyway, the friend was sobbing and hugging everyone. Then my granddaughter was into the sobbing routine. The only light at the end of the tunnel was a small girl who was two years behind approached me. Her nickname was “Tiny.” Tiny said, “Your granddaughter is now my Mommy now that her friend is going to Florida.” Since I had not been read in on the Florida thing, this was my first hint that solved the sobbing issue.
I had boys. They did not much care. They had friends that they left behind when we moved. My younger son beat himself up inwardly, at one point wanting to commit suicide. But outwardly, he just took the disappointment in stride. Maybe if he cut loose and cried for a few days…
Anyway, the only reason my granddaughter had joined Winter Guard that morphed into the color guard for the high school band was the connection with her friend. With her friend leaving, there was no need to stay in the color guard – thus that inconsistency with her battle against wokeness was resolved. She had a clean break. But then there were issues about who owned what – which flags and fake rifles had to be turned in. My son had to settle that matter.
But the day after the band concert was field day. My granddaughter’s friend did not show up. Her friend knew that she would start crying – last time having a field day, last time having a field day at the middle school, last time having fun at school with her best friend – although no guarantee they’d play on the same team. My granddaughter caused such a stir by dropping to the ground and sobbing, that she was sent home. She ran to her bed and sobbed for another hour. Her friend’s decision to not show up to this one last big event felt like abandonment.
If I had a daughter, I do not know if I would be prepared for this series of events. But only having boys, this was somehow harder on me than I let on. Due to my employment issues. My older son went to three different high schools. My younger son also went to three different high schools, but two elementary schools, and three different middle schools (I think). Sixth grade was middle school in South Carolina, but elementary school in Mississippi. So, middle <move SC to MS> to elementary, back to middle <move one town to another> more middle to high school <move MS to WA> more high school <move WA to PA> finished high school. Yep, I got the numbers right. Even three different time zones for my son’s high school career.
We give the Israelites a lot of grief, as we should. They complained to Almighty God. But as you move around and the structure of the friends around you changes, it can be traumatic.
Boys generally internalize. They do not want to be seen as weak. But the girls tend to let all those emotions show. I think letting it out is better, but I was chastised, even hit when I shed a tear. That made me even less equipped to handle the dehydration by tears issue.
But oh, how I feel for her, being an introvert myself.
Soli Deo Gloria. Only to God be the Glory.
Thoughts from Mark "Hat" Rackley 
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