Seeking Out Time with the Shepherd

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It is the summer season here in Colorado. At this altitude the sun really feels intense.  I’ve been informed that where I live is an alpine desert.  Moisture typically shows up in small doses, sometimes wreaking havoc when it comes in the form of hail – hailstones the size of grapefruit! But we really do need rain. Our front lawn is testimony to that.

You have bedded me down in lush meadows, you find me quiet pools to drink from. True to your word, you let me catch my breath and send me in the right direction.
– Psalm 23: 2-3, The Message

I enjoy the clear blue skies and the warmth of the sun at this time of year. And it was a recent weekday morning when I found myself reading the very familiar 23rd Psalm. Many of you, like me, may have memorized it as a young child. But this particular morning I was especially taken by the personal nature of this psalm. The Lord is my shepherd.
I honestly don’t think I had ever really let that verse sink in.
And then I kept reading as the personal pronoun went from “He” to “You”: The Lord, my shepherd, is there to help me catch my breath, give me a personal oasis from which to draw refreshment and to send me on my way in the right direction. (I do like how pastor Eugene Peterson wrote these verses first for his congregation and later the world.)
I’m enjoying my summer so far but, honestly, I’m going to enjoy it now, even more, re-reading this Psalm and seeking out time with the Shepherd – time spent in lush meadows and by quiet streams.
And let me tell you, Colorado provides plenty of those!
– Navpress Publisher Don Pape

1 thought on “Seeking Out Time with the Shepherd”

  1. Ever since I return to the Catholic Church I love reciting Psalm 23. Meditating on its words bring me back to the realization of the beautiful and awesome presence of God. No matter how stressful my day becomes, I remember that “The Lord is my Shepherd” and while I am in His presence “there is nothing I shall want.” His loving presence brings me comfort, repose, recharges me when my energy is low. Then fully comforted He sends me to continue doing what He has prepared as my task for that day. He blesses me everyday and reminds me that He is in control. I only need to rest in His arms.

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