Psalm Meditation 1163 ¶Proper 22 ¶October 2, 2022 ¶Psalm 23 https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Psalm+23&version=NRSVUE (NRSV) ¶In high school I helped in a daycare center during my long lunch break. There was a brother and sister who would not lie still for nap time. I volunteered to help them get to sleep. I laid on the floor had one of the siblings lie on either side of me with a head on my bicep. I put a hand on each chest and held them still until they wearied themselves off to sleep. It rarely took more than a couple of minutes. I slowly moved one arm so the child’s head did not bump on the hard floor and then lifted the other head gently while I moved my arm. I could then go back to school with plenty of time before my next class. ¶As adults we rarely have to be made to take naps. As children we resist naps for reasons available only to children. So when the psalmist says, “He makes me lie down in green pastures,” I think of the reluctance children have to nap as I read that line of the psalm. I know other versions translate the line differently, however we have ‘makes’ in this case. God not only provides us a place, God makes that place safe through watching care. Knowing that God is with us allows us to rest peacefully and find restoration in the pastures to which God leads us. ¶No matter what, we are in the presence of God. God does not keep us from the dark valleys or the presence of evil. God does give us comfort as we face the less than perfect, less than desirable parts of our lives. Each of us will come to the end of life at some point, even then we are not abandoned by God. We continue to enjoy God’s providence and to live in God’s presence. “Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life, and I shall dwell in the house of the LORD my whole life long.” ¶September 26, 2022 ¶LCM