Bouncing

There is so much going on in my head right now, I almost cannot collect my thoughts. Can anyone relate to this? I would imagine any mother could. Recently I saw a post on social media that said the work of mothers was equivalent to two and a half full time jobs. My first thought was, “that’s it!?! Only two and a half jobs?” I could name at least five that a stay-at-home parent regularly does, but I digress. Almost everyone I’ve talked to recently seems to feel the same way I do. Time feels like it’s moving faster, activities seem to be multiplying, and quiet time with my Lord seems to be an endangered activity. For help, I always turn to the Bible…and I never regret it.

The book of Psalms is actually a book of prayers and poems written by people crying out to God. I can always find a psalm that seems to speak to the very situation I find myself in. However, there are a few psalms I know so well that I find myself reading them and moving on quickly, not really meditating on them. For example, Psalm 23 is arguably the most famous reading at funerals. In that context, this prayer of devotion tends to have a black cloud over it, in my opinion. Therefore, in order to slow myself down and dig deeper, I decided to meditate on Psalm 23. I asked my heavenly Father one morning to show me something new in Psalm 23. I asked him to make these words fresh in my spirit again. I wanted him to show me anything I might have missed in becoming too familiar with this section of his word. As I closed my eyes, I slowly whispered the lines over and over again in order to memorize them. I kept getting stuck on verse 4:

Even though I walk through the darkest valley, I will fear no evil, for you are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me.

“What is it about this verse, Lord?” I asked. Typically when I get stuck on a verse and can’t get past it, I know God wants to tell me something about it. I closed my eyes and listened. God showed me an image of a steep, reddish, stone canyon. The empty canyon had a gravel floor, the creek having dried up long ago. There were no trees or scrub brush anywhere. In the walls, hidden in shadows were several wolves, and way down in the bottom of the canyon was a single sheep. The sheep was happily bouncing its way along the gravel trail, oblivious to the danger above it, and the wolves just watched. Not one made a move toward the sheep. As I saw this image in my head, I laughed. I could almost hear a spring sound as I saw the sheep bounce!

God impressed upon me that I was that sheep. That’s how he wanted me to live my life…happy, bouncing along, and completely unaware of the danger surrounding me. My Lord wants me to trust him so much, that I don’t give my environment a second thought. I just move toward my destination with complete faith in him to protect me and provide for me; not just for me, for all of his children.

The United States of America is undeniably in a mess. Natural wonders in our solar system are falling on Jewish holy days (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9H_7TKZ8sMk), the leader of Israel’s greatest enemy just died in a helicopter accident, and new information is rapidly surfacing, revealing the dangers of many recent medical recommendations. There are many wolves hiding in the sides of the dark valley we are all walking in. However, we are not alone…well, not as long as the Lord is our shepherd. God alone is trustworthy. God alone can protect us and fix all our messes. God alone knows the best solutions. God alone will love us, no matter what. Let’s take our eyes off of the shadowy canyon and keep them on God alone. Then, we can go from walking through this canyon to bouncing! Let’s bounce!

Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid or terrified because of them, for the LORD your God goes with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you.

Deuteronomy 31:6