Easter Time... Peace be with you

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This morning it is raining and I am reflecting on Psalm 65...

You care for the land and water it; You enrich it abundantly.
The streams of God are filled with water to provide the people with grain, for so You have ordained it.
You drench its furrows and level its ridges; You soften it with showers and bless its crops.
You crown the year with Your bounty, and Your carts overflow with abundance.
The grasslands of the wilderness overflow; the hills are clothed with gladness.
The meadows are covered with flocks and the valleys are mantled with grain; they shout for joy and sing."
I think the land is singing when I look out on mornings like today. 

I'm grateful for a rainy day.  Living along the Gulf Coast, things can literally become heavy with humidity, and the heat can sometimes pin you like the hold of a wrestler.  So, on days when the sun is hidden, and there is rain, especially after a few weeks of heat, it is a welcomed change.

Sometimes I can relate this experience to my own spiritual life.  There can be days when the events just seem to constrict me.  The news can be filled with nothing but tragedies.  Even standing at the fuel pump can bring concern when the gas station provides video feed of what's happening in the world from a tv screen above the numbers as they race to fill your tank.  Everywhere there is noise!

I am reminded it is important to find peace.  To discover time away from all the things trying to get my attention.

I have often wondered what self-care looked like for the Disciples?  We know that Jesus would go off to pray by himself, but rarely do we find the Disciples relaxing.  Even while on a boat out on the lake, the anxiety of weather keeps them from enjoying the breeze!  When they gather for dinner, they even fight over who is going to sit where!

Enough already!  Jesus shares, "Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid." (John 14:27)

Today I'm grateful for the gentle rain, and for this morning, filled with peace.

Stay in God's grip!

​G. Todd Williams (c) 2017

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Dear Lord, today I simply say, "Thank You," for caring for me always.  Amen.

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