The first time I talked publically about Psalm 23 was on a
Mother’s Day. At a funeral. For my
mother-in-law, Gayle. It was a very,
very hard day.
Gayle had
died suddenly of a heart attack at the young age of 55. Pam and I were in Chicago and immediately
thrust into the surreal chaos, raw emotion and numb pain that unexpected death
brings. Rushing to find plane tickets,
struggling to understand the details of what had happened, coordinating
schedules, embracing fond memories, weeping over regrets – they all came
rushing in.
Gayle’s
husband (Pam’s step-father) was already an abrasive personality and the pain of
his wife’s death accentuated his sharp edge.
He did things that weren’t nice, he said things that weren’t nice – for
crying out loud, he scheduled the memorial service on Mother’s Day because
there weren’t any other services scheduled that day!
In the
midst of such tremendous pain and unfairness my wife Pam exuded a level of
grace that could only have come from the presence of her heavenly Father
holding her and leading her. God cared
for us.
The 23rd
Psalm from the Bible has long been embraced by our culture at large. There is a strength and peace that exudes
from these brief six verses that draws us in to its power. The dominant metaphor for God is one of
shepherd. Even those who have never been
on a farm or around farm animals still understand what this means from the
Psalm. A shepherd has the responsibility
of leading, caring for and protecting his sheep. It was a combination of being a scout, nurse
and warrior all wrapped together. When
you have been shepherded well, you recognize it clearly after-the-fact.
To be
shepherded we have to accept the shepherd.
We have to realize that we indeed need someone to direct us where we
should go, to bind up our wounds and fight off the wolves that surround
us. This is life. It is very lonely and frightening when we go
about it on our own.
It was 21
years ago when we got that horrible call about Gayle. There have been other very painful valleys we
have traversed during that time that have been oh so very dark. The Shepherd has always calmly, patiently,
gently, lovingly walked before us to show us grace on the journey to the table
of his provision.
God cares.
Peace and grace,
David
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