Psalm 63
Comfort and Assurance in God’s Presence
1 O God, you are my God, I seek you, my soul thirsts for you; my flesh faints for you,
as in a dry and weary land where there is no water.
2 So I have looked upon you in the sanctuary, beholding your power and glory.
3 Because your steadfast love is better than life, my lips will praise you.
4 So I will bless you as long as I live; I will lift up my hands and call on your name.
5 My soul is satisfied as with a rich feast, and my mouth praises you with joyful lips
6 when I think of you on my bed, and meditate on you in the watches of the night;
7 for you have been my help, and in the shadow of your wings I sing for joy.
8 My soul clings to you; your right hand upholds me.
Outside our front door we have a hanging basket. It has one sprig of a bright red geranium and a morning dove who sits patiently and oh so quietly on her one egg. Today, as it rained pretty hard, there she stayed, not moving, nestled down in the basket keeping her egg warm and waiting out the storm. She is practicing social seclusion, and I thought how easy and normal she makes it all seem.
Quite a few years ago, I took part in a 2 yr. program about spiritual formation. We met for one week every quarter at a monastic retreat center. The first week there I found out that after vespers or evening prayer, there would be silence, silence until morning prayer! I remember thinking this may be hard to do and may not go very well at all! But honestly after that first week I found myself longing to be back there, to be in the rhythm of a daily routine which included silence.
In one of the classes we had, the teacher highlighted Psalm 63. She spoke about her longing for God when her life wasn’t going as planned and this Psalm gave her comfort. As I was thinking of this, I reread it and felt God speaking to me during this unusual time that we find ourselves in. It gave me a sense of comfort and peace.
It’s been difficult for me not to be with my grandchildren, family and friends, and I’m sure for you as well. We all feel removed from our previous life as we knew it, we are having to social distance, social seclusion, not touch. My world has become ever more quiet, and through this I am brought back to a place of stillness, of rest and focused on my own longing for God’s presence in my life.
After our class we were asked to go someplace and sit in quiet stillness and write a Psalm or Haiku of our own longing. So I offer you this opportunity to write yours. I am sharing the one I wrote back in 2002, funny how I can relate it for such a time as this. Sit in a comfortable place, relax and breathe deeply and slowly as you become centered in silence. There is no judgement, allow this to be a time of healing and comfort, just let the words and feelings flow.
My haiku, my longing for God…
“Wandering the familiar parchedness of my soul longing to be where you are.
When will the healing rains come, when will the seeds begin to grow?
My desert longs for showers of restoration
I cry out for you, I sing of your holiness
Glory to God on high
Let the rains flow from the mountain peaks
Let the waters rush to the depths of my despair
You are there, you hold me in the silence of your love…you are there”
“Hope is the things with feathers that perches in the soul, and sings the tune without the word, and never stops at all.” Emily Dickerson
And so, in due time mama bird’s baby will emerge from its shelter and mama’s quiet waiting will be over and a new way of life will begin.
Blessings,
Brenda
O God, in the shadow of your wings may we always be, where comfort and peace surrounds us, as we become more continually aware of your presence in all the moments of our lives.