Always There

Well, some things are always there, but this week we weren't. So you get a Learner, and only one Learner 's musings this week. This Learner has been having a tough time, muddling through a series of very challenging situations. The loss of a parent, the loss of a friend's child, the loss of a dear, dear aunt. Those are the big things, compounded by all the littler, normal and not-so-normal challenges of life. It has been difficult to feel...

And just when I thought the world would be gray forever more, I got a story about sunshine. I was reading daily devotionals for a sight-impaired friend and was intrigued that the one day that she wanted me to read to her called us to read Psalms 121 to begin. You see, Psalms 121 is one that her father always read to her, almost every night when she was a child. The coincidence was compounded by the fact that Psalms 121 is the reading my father requested to open my mother's funeral service. It has to do with God always keeping us, shading us from the sun and moon.

The story that accompanied the scripture compared God's presence to your shadow. It is always attached to you, whether you notice it or not. Sometimes it is long and big and impossible to miss. Sometimes it is short and small and really hard to see. Sometimes, especially when the weather is cloudy, it doesn't even appear to be with you. But it is. And so is God. I had never thought about God that way, but it strikes me now as pure genius.

Giving thanks is not something we are programmed to do. I do a pretty good job of remembering to be thankful when I receive something tangible, desired, needed. But today I am thankful that I was listening enough to hear God whispering to me, that even though I wasn't feeling it, like my shadow He is right there with me. Thank you.