"If only we had died in the land of Egypt..."

-Exodus 16:3

The people of Israel had been saved from a life of slavery and misery in Egypt by the bravery and leadership of Moses and the compassion and love of God.  It was what they had prayed for and dreamed of for generations.  But the reality of freedom was not proving to be all that easy.  They'd been wandering around in the hot, dry desert for months.  They were tired and they were hungry.  There was no change in sight and they had no idea how long this was going to go on.  They had assumed that their life of freedom would be like a rose garden, but instead they were rubbing up against some serious thorns.  And when the going got tough, they did what people usually do - they complained - and they lost clarity about their own history.  "At least we had plenty of food and water back in captivity!  Why did you have to drag us out here, Moses?  It would have been better to die than to go through this!"  They said these things even though they used to say the very same thing back in Egypt - it would be better to die than go through this!  God's response is what God's response always is - to share abundance.  God showers down some quails in the evening and mysterious manna appears on the ground to eat in the morning.  OK - so it wasn't a turkey dinner - but it was good sustenance.  And, wouldn't you know it, after eating their fill, it wouldn't be long before the Israelites would complain about the food.   What has been your experience in life with complaining?   When your life gets tough, who do you complain to?  Do you tend to look first for the good in what you have been given or do you always seem to notice what you lack first?  How can the Israelite's experience in the wilderness inform your reactions to life, especially when things aren't going well?