April 18th

“He called the place Massah and Meribah, because the Israelites quarreled and tested the LORD, saying, "Is the LORD among us or not?" Exodus 17:7

it’s the oldest story
in the Old Book—
we are just never happy,
whatever God does.
given a beautiful garden,
we make creation all about us.
let loose from Pharoah’s cell,
we grumble about our new digs.
offered food without having
to produce or purchase it,
we complain about the use-by date.
having emptied our water bottles,
we moan that God doesn’t care a whit.
and, as usual, we expect someone else
to take our complaints to God.
maybe
if we kept our mouths closed,
but our eyes and ears wide open,
we might finally realize
that we are the only ones
who are turning this relationship
into a test.

© 2026 Thom M. Shuman

Venmo: @Thom-Shuman