Suddenly… I don’t like suddenly. I like slow and easy. Expected, not surprised.
I like ordinary. I find comfort in routine.
I’m finding new meaning to one of my favorite verses. “ I will extend peace to her like a river..” (Isa. 66:12) I’ve used that verse on my Facebook page since I opened it. I use it on my blog. I think of it every time I am near water.
Water has always brought me such a feeling of peacefulness.
This past week, I saw some stagnant water. Dead fish were everywhere. I found no peace there.
This past week, I heard about the devastation from a flash flood. People I love are gone…suddenly. There is no peace there for sure.
I’ve sat and looked at water for hours on end over the years. He has spoken to my heart so many times during those moments. Sustaining my life. Cleansing me. Healing me. Refreshing me. Exciting me. Calming me. Soothing me. Providing for me. Nourishing me. On and on the list could go…
But then the circumstances of nature and life bring a cold hard reality. Water can kill….suddenly.
Our Father provides many blessings here. My mind can not stretch to understand when and why it seems as though those blessings are withheld and circumstances often feel like curses. I don’t understand why one is taken and another left.
There is a negative side to every physical aspect of this realm. There is no absolute security except in the eternal realm. I am thankful to Him for that truth. I find my peace and security in Him, and commit myself afresh this morning to His care, whatever my future may hold.
“Alongside Babylon’s rivers we sat on the banks we cried and cried, remembering…
Alongside the quaking aspen trees we stacked our unplayed harps…
Oh, how could we ever sing God’s song in this wasteland” (Ps. 137:1,2,4 The Message)
I will never again sit by water and not remember.
Father, as the waves of grief pound, “Restore the joy of Your salvation and grant a willing spirit, to sustain.” (Ps. 51:12)
