Psalm Meditation 1159 ¶Proper 18 ¶September 4, 2022 ¶Psalm 31 https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=psalm+31&version=NRSVUE (NRSV) ¶One of my brothers-in-law once told me that several people on his team would come into his office and plop into a chair, obviously ready to vent about something. Before they got too wound up he would ask them, “Do you want me to fix this, or do you want me to hear it?” Once he had that settled, he could listen with the proper mindset. There are times we go to someone else so that we can hear ourselves say it out loud, knowing that there is a sympathetic ear focused on us. Other times we want advice and counsel to face a challenge that seems beyond us. ¶The psalmist turns to God for a listening ear as well as for protection from the slings and arrows that seem to be on every side. ‘If only there were someone who would listen to my fears and offer me comfort and protection from all that is going on around me.’ The psalmist is aware that God has been that listening ear as well as a fortress and refuge for many in the sweep of salvation history. Trusting in God to act in our own lives moves us closer to the refuge God offers to us. ¶God is not a helicopter parent, hovering over us to protect us from the slightest insult or injury. God is more like a free range parent, allowing to go where we will and do what we will with a few boundaries. God is also present and available to us at any time and place. As we turn to God for refuge we are given comfort as well as encouragement to go back into the world as soon as, maybe even a little before, we are ready to face the world and God’s abundant goodness in it. ¶August 29, 2022 ¶LCM