Genesis 24:1-4
Abraham was now very old. The Lord had blessed him in every way. Abraham’s oldest servant was in charge of everything Abraham owned. Abraham called that servant to him and said, “Make a promise to me before the Lord, the God of heaven and earth. Don’t get a wife for my son from the Canaanite girls who live around here. Instead, go back to my country, to the land of my relatives. Get a wife for my son Isaac from there.”
Should I add a minor? What should be my first job? Where should I live and with whom. What is the best date for our wedding and should we have chocolate or lemon chiffon? When should we start having kids? These are life decisions we sweat over. We agonize, we calculate, we shadow, we ask opinions, we pray, fast, hem and haw, claw at our cheeks terrified of the consequences should we choose badly. We can stay at these life crossroads for years, frozen by fear and indecision which is kind of funny as these so – called “big” decisions frequently have very little impact on our lives. More often than not, it’s the minuscule, flippant choices we make every day that drastically change the direction of our lives.
Rebekah was lost in her thoughts as she walked to the well to get the evening water for her family. Night was falling and so many young women were out doing the same. Balancing a jar on her shoulder she notices a group of men and their camels standing by the well. As she approaches the oldest of the men asks her for a drink of water. He is sweaty, dusty, long -overdue for a bath as are the others, they obviously have come from far away. She obliges, draws water and gives it to drink. She then offers to provide water for his 10 camels, no small feat as camels who have been living off their reserves can drink 40 gallons when water is available.
Bucket after bucket after bucket is drawn to satisfy these ten, massive and dehydrated animals. She works tirelessly until the camels and the men have had their fill. As the servant watches her work he knows this girl is the one God wants for Abraham’s son Isaac. This is the girl he has traveled from Hebron to Ur to find, a seventeen-day journey. He presents Rebekah with a gold nose ring and gold bracelets. She tells the servant that she is the granddaughter of Abraham’s brother Nahor and that he, his men and his camels can stay with her family. The servant goes to her house, meets her family and over dinner asks her father if he can take his daughter to be a bride for Isaac. Her father agrees and when asked if she is willing to go with them, Rebekah amazingly agrees as well. The next morning, despite her mother’s protests, this young girl says goodbye to her family forever, she and her maids climb upon these camels and begin the two-and-a-half-week journey with a handful of strange men to meet her husband.
Rebekah had no idea that simply gathering water for the night would change her life forever. Her parents never knew that dinner with unexpected visitors would secure their daughter permanently in history, placing her in the line of the patriarchs. Stories like this from scripture remind me the importance of turning every day, every decision into God’s hands. I shouldn’t only reach for God’s guidance with the supposedly big issues but with every twist and turn. Every thought and movement of my life need to be placed carefully in God’s hands.
~ Upcoming Events ~
Sunday, November 12
Team 2 Acolyting
Family Worship
10 am | Chapel
Christmas Pageant Rehearsals
&
Children’s Sermon Sunday
Harvest Craft Fair & Goat Yoga
Noon | The Close
Spanky and Pippen are two Nigerian dwarf goats
who want to come to St. Edmund’s!
Photo ops and petting zoo will be available after church,
followed by an hour long class starting at noon.
Please RSVP, class is $25 per person.
Spaces can be purchased online
While you wait for class to be begin, enjoy our harvest craft fair out on the Close with local artisans, food, face painting and games for the kids.
~
Sunday, November 19
Feast of St. Edmund’s
Team 3 Acolyting
Family Worship
10 am | Chapel
Sunday School
10:30 am | Sunday School Classrooms
Teaching: Allison, Shawna, Antonio and Heather
Christmas Pageant Rehearsal
Following the Lesson | Sunday School Rooms
~
Sunday, November 26
Team 4 Acolyting
Family Worship
10 am | Chapel
Sunday School
10:30 am | Sunday School Classrooms
Teaching: Antonio and Heather
Christmas Pageant Rehearsals
Following the Lesson | Sunday School Rooms
~
Sunday, December 3
Team 1 Acolyting
Family Worship
10 am | Chapel
Sunday School
10:30 am | Sunday School Classrooms
Teaching: Antonio and Heather
Christmas Pageant Rehearsal
Following the Lesson | Sunday School Rooms
~
Sunday, December 10
Team 2 Acolyting
Family Worship
10 am | Chapel
Sunday School
10:30 am | Sunday School Classrooms
Teaching: Antonio and Heather
Christmas Pageant Rehearsals
Following the Lesson | Sunday School Rooms
Matinee to see “The Star”
Join us for lunch and a movie as we get ready for Christmas
~
Sunday, December 18
Christmas Pageant
10 am | Sanctuary
