So…good news, bad news…from Genesis

I was reminded this week of a time early in my marriage to Russ when we were visiting in his parents’ home. All the siblings were there and some happening stirred a memory of them from their childhood. It was one of those stories that involved some misbehavior that flew under the parental radar and as adults they were looking back and chuckling. 

Only their mom wasn’t.

All those years later, it still wasn’t funny to her. I kind of shook my in-law head and mused that as dysfunctional as some of my own family dynamics had been, and even with eight years of separation in age, neither my sister nor I would ever have made this rookie mistake. 

It is the rare circumstance where a mom or dad gets to the point where they can laugh about some fiasco their children created. And it needs to be on their terms. They get to lead the charge on that call. They get to share the story and smile, not have the kids wiping away the laugher as they sit uncomfortably in the recliner remembering it all differently.

So as I have been working through the various cringy stories in Genesis this week, I thought again about Jacob listening to his oldest children explaining that, lo and behold, Joseph wasn’t dead after all. Why, in fact, he was very much alive and running all the grain operations for the entire land of Egypt. 

I wondered if they ever divulged to their dad the entire sordid story or if they just let that slide past. Granted as far as he knew, they just found that blood spattered coat of many colors in the fields and assumed he was dead. But then there would be Joseph at the end of the long journey, having to answer questions on his whereabouts for those long, sad days of mourning.

In the reading, it is very clear that the brothers had carried a lot of guilt over the years between selling Joseph to a caravan and standing before him with mouths agape as he had power over their very lives. I would assume that they told Jacob the whole story and I would also assume that was quite a lot for their dad to take in. 

He was robbed of so many years with his son and yet he must have also been able to relate to sibling rivalry and where it can drive you. There is also a wisdom and an acceptance of things that cannot be changed as we grow older. 

It has been interesting to think about the conversations that this would have stirred. These were real people, just like you and me. They had emotions and personalities just as we do. There was history between them and a lot to process on that trip to Egypt. I would imagine Jacob went through the gamut of thoughts and feelings over this revelation.

Have you read through the book of Genesis lately?

It is disheartening in some ways to see all the flaws and yet strangely comforting to know that our failings do not disqualify us from God’s love and care, provision and protection, plan and guidance. 

We are all very much human and capable of a variety of poor choices. How thankful I am for God’s love and patience with me and with all of us. How thankful I am for His faithfulness, mercy and grace <3