“O save our people, and bless your heritage;
be their shepherd, and carry them forever.”
Psalm 28:9
Reflection: There is a kind of relationship between a hiker and her backpack. It is unthinkable that I could ever forget or abandon it. It is my lifeline. If I go, it goes with me, even when carrying it makes the journey ten times more difficult. It is carried through narrow crevices and up steep rocks, while crossing slippery stepping stones over a creek and in the heat when one’s back becomes a sheet of sweat. I put it on again and again, even when standing up can be a challenge. Those of you who have seen the movie “Wild” know how funny and ridiculous it can look. (The pack in the photo is only my daypack; my true backpack is considerably bigger, but not the monster in the movie.) I don’t pretend to think that God needs us the same way that I desperately needed my backpack, although, what do I really know of what God needs? I am amazed, however, that God seems to carry me and God’s people with cherishing persistence, going to great lengths (as in becoming one of us) not to abandon us and the relationship, but carrying us forever.
Suggestions:
1. Take this verse with you and ponder its meaning for you throughout the day. What do you notice? What do you wonder? What in your life is hard for you to carry?
2. Or read all of Psalm 28 to discover how this verse fits into the psalm or to discover a different verse.
3. Or comment with a photo of your own that illustrates this verse’s meaning for you.
Tomorrow’s verse is from Psalm 29
Starting January 1, 2016, for 150 days I am posting a daily psalm verse with a photo that is a visual meditation on the text for me. Each day a verse from the next psalm is chosen until all 150 psalms have been featured. To participate you may subscribe to my blog at https://elainedent.net or “friend” me on Facebook and watch for the daily links to blog posts. Disclaimer: I am not a photographer and most of the photos are from a cell phone or small camera while hiking the Appalachian Trail or the C&O Canal/Great Allegheny Passage Trail.
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