Calling to mind
Linda Pollock
October 25, 2022
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Listen to this daily worship
Psalm 65 (NRSVA)
1 Praise is due to you,
O God, in Zion;
and to you shall vows be performed,
2 O you who answer prayer!
To you all flesh shall come.
3 When deeds of iniquity overwhelm us,
you forgive our transgressions.
4 Happy are those whom you choose and bring near
to live in your courts.
We shall be satisfied with the goodness of your house,
your holy temple.5 By awesome deeds you answer us with deliverance,
O God of our salvation;
you are the hope of all the ends of the earth
and of the farthest seas.
6 By your strength you established the mountains;
you are girded with might.
7 You silence the roaring of the seas,
the roaring of their waves,
the tumult of the peoples.
8 Those who live at earth’s farthest bounds are awed by your signs;
you make the gateways of the morning and the evening shout for joy.9 You visit the earth and water it,
you greatly enrich it;
the river of God is full of water;
you provide the people with grain,
for so you have prepared it.
10 You water its furrows abundantly,
settling its ridges,
softening it with showers,
and blessing its growth.
11 You crown the year with your bounty;
your wagon tracks overflow with richness.
12 The pastures of the wilderness overflow,
the hills gird themselves with joy,
13 the meadows clothe themselves with flocks,
the valleys deck themselves with grain,
they shout and sing together for joy.
I’m weary, I despair… this week I refused to watch the news or read a newspaper. I had to avoid the chaos of the world. Everywhere I turned I was confronted with news of war, of corruption in ‘high places’, of fiscal greed, of violence… och why am I bothering listing these dreadful things?!! You get the picture!
I had no more solutions to give God to fix this sorry world, I had no more words. So, I sat in silence, and I trusted that God was still God and knew what was going on in His creation. As I ‘allowed’ God to be God, I began to hear the birds singing — so many different melodies creating a symphony. Then I noticed the hills and the myriad colours inviting me to walk and enjoy the textures, to inhale the scent of the heather, the wildflowers, the soil. Then my mind travelled to the wee creatures who live in the hedgerows and their burrows in the ground… I heard cows and sheep calling out to their Creator… and I called to mind the beauty, the diversity, of land, air and sea that God had lovingly shaped, and I remembered that God creates over and over and over again, and words of gratitude formed which led to words of praise and thanksgiving and before I knew it, I was rejoicing – my mourning turned to dancing.
Note to self: Be silent, look around let God be God… then, humbly, rejoice that this One comes close.
PRAYER:
Creator God, thank You for all that lives and breathes and has its being in You. Thank You for surrounding us with creation that reflects Your generous nature. May this beauty remind us that You are God, and we are Your children. For the sake of Christ Jesus, in Whose Name we pray. Amen.
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