Guest Post by Deirdre Parker:

TRANSITION! A word that brings out a myriad of emotions. It can bring fear and excitement–stemming from one extreme to another.  This seems to be my current reality going through my work transition. For 6 years I’ve enjoyed my job. I worked within a wonderful organization where I was able to grow and develop into my career. I just knew that I would be going back for a 7th year and then I received an email. I had a recommendation to apply for a position doing the same job, in an unfamiliar environment for benefits that was too good for me to turn down. Before even uttering a prayer, the position explained the benefits and they all matched what I needed in the current state of my family environment. One of those assignments that I always say is that God is giving me a neon sign pointing in a certain direction. In my weakness, I found that I had to be strong in God to make this decision to transition.

While thinking of the decision to shift jobs, I could instantly relate in some way to Pharaoh’s Daughter in the story of Moses. One ordinary day at the river shifted her life forever. In the book of Joshua (Joshua 1:9) “Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged, for the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go.” God tells Joshua to be strong and courageous.

And in the end, changed the course of biblical history and the direction of her faith as well.

Character Study

Then Pharaoh’s daughter went down to the Nile to bathe, and her attendants were walking along the riverbank. She saw the basket among the reeds and sent her female slave to get it. She opened it and saw the baby. He was crying, and she felt sorry for him. “This is one of the Hebrew babies,” she said.” Exodus 2:5-6

It was just an innocent day by the river and Pharaoh’s daughter came to bathe.  She was not alone.  She had her attendants with her. Regardless of the reason, she was by the water and God touched her heart that day and then an instant shift happened in her life with the sight of a basket hidden in the reeds. While her attendants walked along the riverbank, the princess saw a basket, hidden in the reeds.  She sent one of her attendants to get the basket.  She opened up the blanket and the baby began to cry.  

And in her strength, the Bible says that “her heart felt sorry for him” (Exodus 2:6).  A male Hebrew baby. She needed to do something.  It is unclear as to her intentions of taking the baby.  Maybe it was an act of defiance because her father had the law against the birth of the male Hebrew babies.  Regardless of the reasons for her intentions of instantly taking the baby, courage and strength poured in. God touched her heart and she accepted the call to be the baby’s adoptive mother.  Once the call was accepted, her steps were laid out before her.  Before she could even think of next steps for the baby, Miriam steps out of the reeds and offers to find a Hebrew wet nurse, a woman who is paid to breastfeed a child. 

Thinking ahead for Pharaoh’s daughter before she could even come up with the thoughts herself.  Before she could even think, instantly the plan was accepted by Pharaoh’s daughter.  The princess told her to go, and Miriam brought back her mother, Jochebed. Jochebed kept Moses until he was weaned, probably around three years old, and brought him to the palace where he was raised by Pharaoh’s daughter.  And then came the second act of naming the child.  In Hebrew tradition a person’s name is intimately connected with the person’s soul, both its source and its mission in this world. Not only is Moses’ name homage to the woman who raised him; it also reflects the way he led his life in the future. 

So the woman took the child and nursed him. And the child grew, and she brought him to Pharaoh’s daughter, and he became her son; and she named him Moses, for she said, “Because I drew him out of the water.”— RSV, Exodus: 2:5-10

In scripture, Pharaoh’s daughter has no name.  In Jewish tradition she is Batya.  From Egyptian historians she is Hatshepsut. No matter her name, she is Egyptian and she worships idol gods like her family.  Her power is very limited.  She will never become queen, but uses her power to make change in her small way.  She makes the decision to choose life over watching the baby die.  The compassion that he gave her for the baby Moses, whom she found in the river. Pharaoh’s daughter didn’t know God’s plan for the child.  Nothing was revealed to her.  The Bible said that she acted out of “pity” for the baby.  She, an Egyptian Princess, didn’t know that God was ordering her steps to raise the baby Moses, the Jewish baby.  Son of Jewish slaves living in Egypt.  Under oppression of Pharaoh, her father. I believe that in her heart she knew that she was trying to do the right thing. The “moral” thing.  

Morality can be complex. Sometimes it is more than just being “good” and more about running away from “harm” or confrontation. C.S. Lewis discusses Moral Law in his book Mere Christianity. He argues that sometimes that decent behavior can be an inconvenience for the person that is presented with the decision to make the right decision. People are moral anyway because they believe in the end it is the right thing to do. Even if this action would cause discomfort, it is the right thing to do.  

In my transition I wanted to transition because I believe that it is something that is needed. For 6 years I helped to build a program in a space that was comfortable for me. I had some discomfort, but I pushed forward and was able to achieve great things for the school. Now, it is time to move elsewhere to another program that would equally need my talents and my help. Just like Pharaoh’s daughter, I want to act according to my own convictions and not what other people think. And just like in the story of Pharaoh’s daughter, events seemed to fall into place and everything worked out. In fact for her, it was by a God that she did not even serve.

The structure of her home changed in an instant. Moses’s mother was to be with him for the first three years of his life and then once he was weaned from her, he went to live in the palace with Pharaoh’s daughter. God opened the door for the baby to get to know his heritage and Pharaoh’s daughter submitted to the plan and walked through the door. But the story does not just end with Moses, her story changes as well.

In my life, I chose strength and courage; just as Pharaoh’s daughter. Fear creeps in because we feel that despite feeling strong and courageous, he will not be with us, but that is not what the Bible says. I chose strength and courage because I know that he will be with me through all of the changes. Just as God was with Pharaoh’s daughter, without her even knowing it. 

The incredible thing is that her faith changes through it all. Through the adoption of Moses,  she eventually goes on to worship God.  The one and only TRUE God.  Yahweh.  The God of Moses’ biological mother and her daughter Miriam.  She celebrates Jewish customs and leaves with Moses for the Promised Land.  In the Books of Chronicles, (1 Chronicles 4:18), she is said to have married a member of the Tribe of Judah, Mered, and to have had children with him. A simple unexpected chance at the river changed the course of her life that day. Just as my faith is changing through transition after transition. And for this, I say with confidence and assurance, that I will transition with God.

Questions

1). What is a transition that God had you walk through without much notice?

2). How did you feel while you were transitioning?

3). How did God walk you through the transition successfully?

4). What scripture passages did you meditate on during that time?

Meet the Author: Deirdre Parker

Deirdre Parker is from Maryland, outside of Washington DC. She proudly hails from Baltimore, MD. She is an early childhood educator in Washington DC and writes for www.adoption.com. When she is not at school teaching her “babies” and mentoring new early childhood educators; she is traveling, reading, writing, playing music, following politics, hiking, attending church, and cheering on the Ravens with her intelligent husband and her extremely bright little boy.

Cover Photo by Brett Jordan on Unsplash

Other related blog posts by Sarah de Orlando:

How to walk out your faith in everyday frustrations

How to Find Hope

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