But when she could no longer hide him, she got a basket made of papyrus reeds and waterproofed it with tar and pitch. She put the baby in the basket and laid it among the reeds along the bank of the Nile River.

Exodus 2:3

When I was a boy, this story was a Sunday School favorite. After all, the main characters were children, like me. One floated in a basket that begged to be imitated with construction paper and glue. And then there was the happy surprise of Moses' being adopted by the daughter of the Pharaoh. Moses in the basket was perfect grist for the Sunday School mill.

Now I read this story with different eyes, the eyes of a parent. I feel empathy for Moses' mother, who surely felt great fear for her little baby. Can you imagine what it must have been like to know that your beloved baby could be killed at any moment by the government? How would you feel hiding your baby in a vulnerable basket? Even the “happy ending” of this story required Moses' mother to allow another woman to adopt her son and take him away. Beyond the familiar basket, this story is filled with fear and sadness.

Today I'm reminded to see the people in my world as real people with real emotions, to look “beyond their baskets,” if you will. For example, the cashier in the Mini Mart, the one with that weary, worn expression, may very well be worried about the well-being of her son or about her limited finances or some other hardship. When I think of her as a human being and not simply as a checkout clerk, I'm encouraged to greet her with an extra measure of kindness, to learn her name, and to find ways to share the love of Christ with her. I may never know her struggles, but I can be quite sure she has them. Perhaps God wants to use me as a channel of his grace and peace in her life. This will happen as I get "beyond the basket."

QUESTIONS FOR REFLECTION: Do you ever neglect to see people in their full humanness? When? Why? What helps you to get "beyond the basket" in your relationships?

PRAYER: Gracious Lord, I'm struck today by the fact that this familiar story has so much more pathos in it than I once realized. Thank you for using this story to help me realize how easily I can neglect the full humanity of people. Help me, Lord, in all of my relationships, from the most intimate to the most casual, to see people as they really are. By your Spirit, may I sense what's going on in people, so that I might become an instrument of your grace in their lives. Amen.