Is it me or is it my eyesight or is it my ability to conceptualize all that is too big for me?
War and images of war inundate the media and we are taken in.
All that is going on in this world does take me into my faith in different ways and causes me to read those ancient Biblical writings with new eyes.
David, an Old Testament hero, loved God in spite of his human failings of adultery and murder. Perhaps it was in the recognition of his failures that he truly came to know who the God of love was. Perhaps it was in his failures that he faced them, found forgiveness and from that brokenness had so much more to offer others.
David, wrote many poems called Psalms. One which has held deep meaning for me in the past has come to hold greater clarity in the present world I am seeing unfold.
Psalm 131
1. Lord, I am not proud and haughty. I don’t think myself better than others. I don’t pretend to “know it all.”
2. I am quiet now before the Lord, just as a child who is weaned from the breast. Yes, my begging has been stilled.
3. O Israel, you too should quietly trust in the Lord—now, and always.
I grappled with this poem and yet in the overwhelmingness of life I found some wisdom as well.
When life is way too big, I can chose to step down a notch or more! I can acknowledge to myself and before others that I too am overwhelmed and do not have all the answers. And in that choosing, I also choose to invite others in, so we can journey together to find strength, comfort and blended wisdom.
When I first read verse two, it made no sense to me. I do remember what it was like to wean a child. They were neither quiet nor stilled at the start.
I remember a visit to my friends farm during weaning season. Oh that was a noisy, raucous time. All those crying weaned calves and those bawling mothers. Not a scene of peace and rest at all.
And yet as I reflected on that time of weaning, the start of the change was painful and chaotic. And in both human and animal mothers and babies, the ability to find their way through the pain and yes, for some the trauma, a new kind of peace, a new kind of rest was found. That calm when we cease to strive, resist and fight. And in that calm, comes fresh wisdom for what the next step will be.
Who is there to walk with you, to encourage you in this unknown journey we are on? Find them, invite them in and hold each other as you journey.
For further Information:
Ruth@InspiredtoLead.ca
RuthEsau.com
COMING THIS FALL:
