God Will Keep You

Just a few moments ago, I was standing in my backyard with my dog, the wind whipping against my face. As my dog sniffed around the edges of the fence, I stood and gazed towards the west. Across our side yard, and across the street, and over the old stone wall, and across my neighbor's field, and beyond the trees, and then on to the mountains in the distance: there was the sky. The sun was just about behind the trees, and the long, low clouds glowed bright, lazily casting stripes on the rosy-blue sky. Except for the wind, there was not a sound.

I breathed deeply, willing myself to fully absorb the moment, but still my mind clattered with all the many things: the email still to send, the order of service to finish, the dinner to make, the person to call, the dog to feed, the annual report to write, the application to send... The to-do list for work and for home is never-ending, as many of us know very well.

And the world clatters on around us with its scary news and horrifying images and headlines designed to keep us scrolling.

I lift up my eyes to the hills: from where will my help come?

My help comes from God, who made heaven and earth...

As we grasp after some shreds of peace in the midst of this challenging moment, may we remember to lift up our eyes to the hills and trust in God. "The arc of the moral universe is long, but it bends towards justice" said the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Which way is it bending now? And if it is bending backwards, can we trust in the long view of God? Can we find the stillness even as fires rage and grief and fear are heavy?

God will keep you from all evil, will keep your life.

God will keep your going out and your coming in

from this time on and forevermore. (Psalm 121)