still waters....

We read the words today in church...
words from the middle of the Bible.

The Lord is my shepherd I shall not want.
He leads me to green pastures...
beside still waters....
He restores my soul.

Psalm 23...
the arms we long for....
that embrace us so deeply...
that every molecule of fear and angst leave our being.

This is the promise found in the middle.
"I am with you.
I hear you.
I will lead you."

Yet,
in the middle....
it is as if God
folds in
the rough edges of life...
the shadow of death...
the presence of enemies...

The very things which threaten
are folded into the middle of
God's grace...
God's Kingdom...

There in the middle life is restored.
There in the middle we are made whole.
There in the middle God reminds us...
"I've been to the edge...
I know where you are."

Perhaps in times like these...
the only thing a person can do...
is repeat these words...
over...
and
over
again
and again.

Perhaps the repetition
will
become the
reality.

I pray...
that the edges of my life
are folded into the middle of
God's grace....
God's presence....
where life is
restored.

Amen
and
Amen.