This morning in our weekly Bible study, we studied Psalm 23. It's one of those Psalms I'll be able to recite from my grave, but I really enjoyed revisiting it. I was struck by several things as we meditated on it.
1. "He makes me lie down in green pastures." This morning I imagined a very busy sheep, wanting to move on and move on, gently being hooked with a shepherd's crook and guided to a nice, quiet spot in the meadow. It does seem like this month is already super busy, but it's really just our weekends. However busy our days and weeks get, I still need to make time for meditation and rest.
2. "The valley of the shadow of death" and the "evil" that we shouldn't fear. As a child, I think I imagined something along the lines of Pilgrim's Progress--a dark valley with monsters hemming me in. Now, it seems like the evil to fear is my own sin nature: for example, a few things this week have really tested the limits of my patience. If I don't have enough patience now, when I only have two relatively easy children to deal with, how am I going to do it with a third, needy child? It is something I worry about, but I don't need to.
The end of our meditation (we were using the Lectio Divina steps) was to consider our 'call to action' from the passage. While I may not have infinite patience (I don't), God does, and He is always with me. I'm going to view this time before our daughter arrives as a time to practice finding that rod and staff (and the comfort they bring). Maybe Katie and I need to memorize a specific passage of Scripture together--one that will remind both of us that fussing and whining (or losing one's temper) only causes problems. I'll be analyzing the not-so-great days to see if there is a pattern. I am a scientist, after all. :) And I'll be reminding myself that His strength is made perfect in weakness.
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