Thunderbird Lake State Park, Norman, Oklahoma
Joseph said to them, “It is just as I told you: You are spies! And this is how you will be tested: As surely as Pharaoh lives, you will not leave this place unless your youngest brother comes here. Send one of your number to get your brother; the rest of you will be kept in prison, so that your words may be tested to see if you are telling the truth. If you are not, then as surely as Pharaoh lives, you are spies!’ And he put them all in custody for three days. ~ Genesis 42:14-17 Joseph continues to be harsh with them. Is it revenge? Is it a means to bring them to repentance? What do you think? Why did he tell them that one of them was to go get Benjamin, but then put them all in prison for three days? Did they argue with him, so that he felt he had to put some fear in them in order for them to make a decision? Is he giving them a taste of the ‘prison’ they put him in, when they threw him in the cistern? I’m pretty certain that Joseph didn’t put his brothers in the worst prison, just as Joseph wasn’t in the worst, but it was still prison. And they had no assurance that Joseph would keep his word and release them after three days. Also, did he keep them all together, or did they have separate cells? At any rate, we know Joseph wants Benjamin and Jacob to come to Egypt. It’s necessary in order to fulfill the prophecy of his dreams, plus he loves and misses them. I believe there is surely more going on than scripture reveals to us in these verses. If nothing else, just the vacillating Joseph does as he decides how to go about getting what he deeply desires, and this from a very decisive man. If he changed his mind so often in his work, I don’t believe Pharaoh would keep him in power. How do you go about making important decisions? Does your process include talking to and listening for God’s direction?
As I rode around a 14-mile paved loop today, I had a myriad of thoughts crashing through my brain. Most of them melodramatic thoughts of things I wanted to put in this post. But as I prepare to write, it’s several days later and several nights of much less than adequate sleep, and my brain’s not functioning on all cylinders (even worse than normal, for those of you thinking “so what else is new” 😊), so we’ll see what we end up with . . . .
I was uneasy before we even parked the Jeep. I’d seen what I believed to be the trail just off the parking lot and it looked like a two-lane paved road that went down to where you couldn’t even see it, and then up a very steep hill. I don’t do small hills all that well. Big ones? Impossible! I’m a fairly small woman. I’m coming up on 63 years. I’m in decent shape, but far from athletic, and I felt like a child stomping her foot and digging in her heels, screaming “NO!” with fists at her sides and eyes blazing. Of course, that was just in my head. Out of my mouth came mildly anxious, concerned thoughts.
Of course, once I pointed out the hill, Blaine wasn’t a bit concerned.
He shoulda been.
Our dream of breezing fourteen miles around a blue lake on a gorgeous day (cue the sweet flute music and butterflies), ended up closer to a nightmare (cue “Jaws” music and “Wizard of Oz” trees and evil laughter). At least for me. Blaine’s only difficulty was in slowing down enough to stay close to me – – without falling over. Oh the eternal patience of this man!
I worked harder and slower today than I have for a very long time – – maybe ever. I almost turned around after the first mile, but just felt I couldn’t disappoint Blaine. And then, the further we went, the more determined I was to finish. Plus, I never gave up hope that “this hill’ll be the last.” Ha! That didn’t happen until just before we returned to the parking lot, although I must confess that the second half was flatter than the first.
I know of at least four people who lapped us – more than once. A world class cyclist can cover the same distance in ½ hour. A “fairly mellow pace” can do it in 1 hour. It took us (me) two. Or maybe even a little more.
Did I mention it was windy? Yeah. That didn’t help. Not only were we (well, I) struggling up hills, but much of the time, it was into a fairly stiff headwind. Yippee!!
But through all that, I still only had to get off and push maybe four times? So by the end, I was pretty proud of myself. But during? Every time someone came by, I felt humiliated and even angry with myself that I was struggling, or just downright couldn’t do it. And I’m not talking about competing with twenty-year-olds, I’m talking gray-hairs. People as old – or older – than us. I know at my age, I shouldn’t care about what others think; especially people I’ll never see again, but there it is. And I also felt sorry for Blaine who I know was just itching to get going. In fact, I was so slow today, he threatened to buy me an e-bike “to help with the hills”. If I had an e-bike I’d most likely crash and burn. I was on one once, for a very short time, and it scared me to death!
The only time I could take pictures was when I stopped, and that wasn’t often. Even so, between the two of us, we still ended up with plenty. And you can see what a lovely day it was.
See that bald spot at the horizon? That’s the hill I saw from the parking lot!
Now, tell me to stop whining. You can’t, in good conscience can you? : )
He waited at the top for me. : )
But keep in mind, many of the hills were even steeper with a higher degree of incline.
Why they felt the need to put stop signs at so many of the hills, is beyond me.
I have a hard enough time when I’m mobile. If I stopped, it was always ‘good luck getting up the hill . . . .’
Blaine said they were practicing take offs and landings. It was pretty cool!
Notice I just dropped my bike where I stopped.
He wanted me to smile, but I’m pretty sure it was more of a grimace. : )
I’m getting back on it after the stop.
Actually, he didn’t go very far, just far enough for a picture. : )
Besides, he’s driving on the wrong side of the road!
We still had a few miles to go.
A few days later, Blaine discovered what they were doing. They’re hunting for Oklahoma’s State Rock – the barite rose. What an incredible and awe-inspiring thing God has created!
Oklahoma designated rose rock (barite rose) as the official state rock in 1968. Rose rocks are found in only a few rare places around the globe.
These rocks were formed by barite rock crystals during the Permian Age and resemble blooming roses. Barite rose rocks can be found in clusters with only two roses to as many as hundreds of roses (some clusters weigh hundreds of pounds).
In Oklahoma, the distinctive red soil colors them in hues ranging from reddish brown to cinnamon – rose rocks are sought after and prized worldwide. An old Cherokee legend says the rocks represent the blood of the braves and the tears of the maidens who made the devastating “Trail of Tears” journey in the 1800’s to Oklahoma. ~ statesymbolsusa.org
The rose rock is an aggregate of barite and sand formed like a fully bloomed rose, with five to twenty radiating plates or blades that appear as the petals. Found as a single rose or clusters of roses, the objects range from the size of an English pea to about four inches in diameter. The largest single specimen ever discovered was seventeen inches in diameter and ten inches high and weighed 125 pounds. The largest cluster weighed more than one thousand pounds. ~ okhistory.org
What an incredible and awe-inspiring thing God has created!
I was even more proud when I woke up the next morning with no sore muscles or bones! If Arthur hadn’t taken up infrequent residence in my shoulders, I’d pat myself on the back.
Blaine said, “Let’s do it again!”
Never! 😊