Yes, weep and grieve until the Spirit is poured
down on us from above
And the badlands desert grows crops
and the fertile fields become forests.
Justice will move into the badlands desert.
Right will build a home in the fertile field.
And where there’s Right, there’ll be Peace
and the progeny of Right: quiet lives and endless trust.
My people will live in a peaceful neighborhood—
in safe houses, in quiet gardens.
The forest of your pride will be clear-cut,
the city showing off your power leveled.
But you will enjoy a blessed life,
planting well-watered fields and gardens,
with your farm animals grazing freely.
Scripture quotations from The Message. © 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 2000, 2001, 2002 by Eugene Peterson. Used by permission of NavPress, Colorado Springs, CO. All rights reserved.
Like countless Americans, we celebrated the Fourth of July with a family get-together and dinner at my mother’s home… the same house in which she has lived since I was 2 years old (that’s 54 years!). Mom and her husband, Lee, have worked very hard in the Arkansas heat and humidity these last few weeks to complete a new wooden fence around their back yard. Then they stained the fence, their decks, and accompanying outbuildings. Several years ago, they purchased the property of next-door neighbors and expanded the back yard. Now the area that was our neighbor’s lush vegetable garden when I was a child is shaded by trees that long-ago sprouted there. The back yard is a lovely, safe area for my little niece and nephews – and the family dogs - to play. We lined up along the newly stained fence, waved some American flags, and took a group photo for posterity. Indeed, we are enjoying a blessed life.
We don’t have to look very far to see countries where families cannot gather for a peaceful, joy-filled evening of celebrating, feasting and maybe even shooting a few fireworks. We know that there are plenty of hungry, hurting people in this world who live in anything but a quiet, peaceful, garden-like setting. Freedom is a privilege we often take far too lightly. There are some among us who simply do not get it…those who have no comprehension of how blessed we are as a nation and choose to wallow in perceived – or self-made – miseries and self-pity.
I know it’s the day AFTER Independence Day… or if you are reading this in a foreign country, yesterday was probably just another ordinary day in your neck of the woods. But let’s all stop and look around at what God has done for us. Let’s thank Him for our blessed lives… the peaceful neighborhoods, safe houses, and quiet gardens – both literal and figurative. Let’s take a few minutes to recognize that nothing is impossible with God… that He has our back and stands ready to bless us. Build your life on the firm foundation of a faith in Jesus Christ and the promises of our Heavenly Father… and truly begin to live a quiet life of endless trust. Now there’s a reason to really celebrate!
©2013 Debbie Robus
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