God Sustains

Living in the Spirit
October 4, 2017

Scripture Reading: Psalm 19

Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart
   be acceptable to you,
   O Lord, my rock and my redeemer. –Psalm 19:14

That which we dwell on we become. Running our words and thoughts through God’s filter before we say them or before we become vindictive as we stew in our own juices is a great idea. If we meditate on loving the other, we become a lover of people even ones who we think or know did us harm. Constantly fretting over an issue erodes us from the inside out.

I dabble in genealogy. Some of my ancestors experienced heartaches beyond belief. My paternal grandmother’s father was killed in an accident a few days before or after her birth in 1883. Her mother raised her alone until she remarried when my grandmother was five. Her only son by her first husband died of illness in 1914 when he was nine years old. Her first husband was struck by lightning and killed two years later leaving her to raise five daughters. She married my grandfather a couple of years later. He brought nine children to the marriage and together they had three children. He died of blood poisoning just before the Dust Bowl and The Great Depression. She had a hard life filled with sorrow and grief.

My memories of my grandmother are those of a five-year-old little girl who felt very loved by her. I remember sitting at her dressing table where she had a box of talcum powder with a big soft puff. She would pat it on my arms and back and make me feel very special. I know she had bad times, but she was very resilient. My dad described her as one who prayed constantly.  I cannot help but think that her time spent in prayer is what guided her through the darkness. The time we spend in prayer will do the same for us when we open ourselves to the healing presence of God.

Prayer: Lord, Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart
   be acceptable to you, O Lord, my rock and my redeemer. so that my actions in dealing with others reflect your love and not my hurt or pain. Amen.

All scriptures are quoted from the New Revised Standard Version Bible: Anglicized Edition, copyright 1989, 1995, Division of Christian Education of the National Council of Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights are reserved.