Sunday, March 27, 2022

All the Days of my Life



The Lord is my shepherd; 

I shall not want. 

He makes me lie down 

in green pastures. 

He leads me beside still waters. 


He restores my soul. 


He leads me in 

paths of righteousness 

for his name's sake. 


Even though I walk through 

the valley of the shadow of death, 

I will fear no evil, 

for you are with me; 

your rod and your staff, 

they comfort me. 


You prepare a table before me 

in the presence of my enemies; 

you anoint my head with oil; 

my cup overflows. 


Surely goodness and mercy 

shall follow me 

all the days of my life, 

and I shall dwell in the 

house of the Lord 

forever. 



The 23rd Psalm of David




Monday, March 21, 2022

Simcha and Me

 



We sat by the lake and looked at the sky. As we looked a fly went by.


"Hey, that's weird," I said.


"What," asked Simcha.


"It's a story from my childhood."


"I remember," he said, then shook his head and added, "Not really."


"There's a fly. It zooms past in a panic. It's being chased by a frog."


"The frog wants to eat the fly. This is a simple story," he nodded.


"Not really. The frog is running from a cat, who is running from a dog."


"So no one is chasing the fly?"


"No one."


Simcha laughed like he was remembering something horrible.


"It's like that in life," he said.


"There's a war in my world," I told him. 


"I know."


"I like the bad guy."


"Why?"


"He doesn't seem so bad, but my friend can hear explosions from her window. How can that not be bad?"


Simcha took a deep breath.


"I can tell you something about that," he said. "In all my years I've never seen a necessary war or a person who did not need redemption, and I am older than this lake and you and everything chasing that fly. Everyone likes their own bad guy."


"Why?"


"We're like that fly. We each have our own perspective." He paused and asked like he knew the answer, "How does the story end?"


"It was all a mistake. There was a lamb with its hoof stuck in a metal bucket. The noise scared a man who ran, which scared a fox, who scared a cow, who scared a pig, who scared the dog. They were each running away from something and scaring the animal in front of them."


"It's like that in life," he said like he was remembering something horrible.


We sat by the lake and looked at the sky.


Friday, March 18, 2022

Saturday, March 12, 2022

Mean Mary

 

My Grandma played the banjo, but not like this.


During the long winter months when she and Grandpa escaped snowy Michigan for Texas and then Florida, I kept her banjo safe for her. It had a special place on my dresser. I never learned to play, but in my dreams both Grandma and I sound like this.




Psalm 136:23-25

 

It is he who remembered us in our low estate,

for his steadfast love endures forever;

and rescued us from our foes,

for his steadfast love endures forever;

he who gives food to all flesh,

for his steadfast love endures forever.