There the angel of the LORD 

appeared to him in a flame of fire

out of a bush; he looked, and the bush

was blazing, yet it was not consumed.

Then Moses said, "I must turn aside

and look at this great sight."

Exodus 3:2-3

I'm dreading the day before the day's really begun,

so instead of marching right down to

the basement to begin our work

I propose a turn around the track.

No one argues with that, 

though getting all of us out there,

a mere thirty yards away is not without

its mishaps and crises.

Nothing is with five children ten and under.

I dread the moment that lost snake in the van

shows up while I'm zooming down I-5.

I still can't believe the cat 

survived a whole night in the freezer.

But we go on ahead, me weak and frail,

close to falling apart and yet,

the Spirit strengthening as I walk

towards the light.

We count the gourds on the plant growing wild

in the nearly dead garden.

We look at the red leaves and collect a few,

deciding we'll try to figure out what tree

it is.

We watch the funny chickens with their fluff 

growing wild.  Their friends the 

ducks are beautiful, and is that 

an egg?

No, we get a stick and find it is a snail.

We rehearse our Psalm...

"Come, let us sing for joy to the LORD,

Let us shout aloud to the rock our our salvation."

And we recite our Old Testament

books of the Bible.  Yes, 

we've just about got them all mastered.

Most of all, 

my heart has warmed.

My eyes have chosen to look

at the bushes burning,

and not at the sheep bleating.