Clicktivist to Activist

BY SYLVIA RENZ
Steve Creitz © www.goodsalt.com
My dear Father,
When you hold this letter in your
hands, you will have already greeted my
brothers and will have heard that I am
still alive. I know it must be hard to
believe. You saw my coat, ripped and
splattered with blood. You thought I was
dead—torn to pieces by a wild animal.
But the blood on my coat was not mine.
A little lamb died, and I am alive. My
heart bursts with joy over the thought of
seeing you again. I have longed to see
you for many years. I wish you would
come to me with the whole family. I have
already prepared everything for you:
houses, herds, stables, and apartments
for the shepherds. Everything is ready,
and your new home will be in the best
part of the country, in Goshen.
If you still doubt the news, please step
outside your tent. You will see a carriage
with Pharaoh’s coat of arms. It’s my carriage
I have sent to you, so you may
travel comfortably to Egypt. Lose no time
in departing, because the famine will
last another five years, and I do not want
my family to suffer any longer. Come to
me in Egypt, and I will take care of you,
because I am at the source of food.
Father, you must be shaking your head
right now. Let me explain to you what
has happened in the past years.
***
But first things first: please forgive my
brothers. I forgave them long ago for
what they did to me. Forgive them as
well. We were all young and foolish
then. They allowed anger to take control
of them. They saw your great love for
me and were jealous. I was immature
and boasted with your love, as if I were
better than they were. Remember, you
made me that special coat with long
sleeves. It was truly fit for a prince, and I
wore it with pride. But I didn’t realize
the pain it caused my brothers. They felt
second-best.
Do you remember the two dreams? I
dreamed that my brothers’ sheaves
would bow down before my sheaf, and
that the sun and moon and 11 stars
showed me reverence. I didn’t know
then what those dreams meant, but I
felt good about them. You know me: I
was never satisfied with being mediocre.
I wanted to reach the very top, and
you mostly supported me in this. The
second dream went too far, you said,
but I did not make it up. It came to me,
unbidden, but not undesired (sigh). Yes,
I admit that I was arrogant and vain. But,
thank God, life has taken care of that.
***
How long has it been? Twenty-two
years? You also have probably never forgotten
that day. You sent me to look for
my brothers. They had roamed far, seeking
fresh pasture for our sheep. After
not hearing from them for a long time,
you got worried. I got lost on the way, so
it took me a few days to find my brothers
and our herds.
I have traveled
to you so many
times in my
thoughts.
The very sight of me made them
angry. Maybe they thought I was spying
on them. I had done it often enough,
and now I am sad about it, because it
created a wall between us.
But now this wall has been torn
down, because we are reconciled to one
another and have forgiven one another.
So I plead with you: forgive them also. Forgive
them for lying to you. They broke
your heart when they told you I was
dead. In reality they dumped me into a
dry cistern. I thought that would be my
end; the walls were so steep—I never
would have been able to get out on my
own again. That night in the cistern was
terrible! My only consolation was in
seeing the stars. They shone unwaveringly
upon me, and I felt as if they were
calling to me: Do not be afraid. Above the
starry sky is a living God. Do not be downcast.
God sees you. God cares for you. Initially,
however, it didn’t seem as though
God cared.
The next morning my brothers pulled
me out of the cistern. They were still
angry. They wanted to get rid of me. Fortunately,
they did not kill me, but sold
me to traders. Father, please do not
punish my brothers. They did not know
what they were doing. They wanted to
hurt me, but God used it to shape and bless
me. After all, that’s what really counts,
isn’t it, Father?
The slave traders treated me like livestock.
They tied my hands and dragged
me along—no use weeping and wailing.
They made camp for the night quite
close to our tents. I was so hoping that
one of our shepherds would come along
and see me. He would have set me free,
and I would have returned to you
immediately. But no! None of our people
were to be seen.
Then our path led through the mountains
of Seir. Your brother, Esau, lives
there and requires a toll from all the
traveling caravans. But his soldiers did
not recognize me. At first I was bitterly
disappointed and thought God had forgotten
me. But now I know: I needed to
come to Egypt. And you will also understand
why I had to come here.
***
In Egypt one of Pharaoh’s officers
bought me. Potiphar was the captain of
the royal bodyguard. He had a big house
and many slaves. At first I was given
humble jobs to do. I took great pains in
doing them well. Father, I thank you
that I learned to work at home. You
taught me to do tasks thoroughly and
conscientiously. And I have felt every
day, every hour, that God is close to me.
I did all my work with God watching
over me, and I was successful. Gradually,
I gained the trust of my master.
Potiphar promoted me to his personal
assistant and left me to manage his
entire household.
It was an exciting time! In Potiphar’s
palace I met famous Egyptians, military
commanders, and officials, because everyone
with name and rank was Potiphar’s
guest. I stood quietly in the background at
these feasts, but my ears and eyes were
wide open. I learned about politics and
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