GROWING SEEDS: A Mary-Hicks-Kind-of-Psalm

"God....my Best Friend,

You are my GPS, the One in the drivers seat of my life!

There is nothing I need that You haven't already provided.

You have brought me rest in the most beautiful of places,

And You have provided cool, fresh water (& coffee!) for me to drink from.

You have never lied to me,

And You remind me to BREATHE as I sit and watch the sunrise each morning.

You whisper when to go right and when to go left

Even when that direction sends me through hardship and darkness,

You promise to always be by my side.

The cool breeze on my face is Your breath and a reminder I am safe with You.

You provide food not just on my table, but in my very soul,

So when the enemy arrives, I will be strong and ready.

Your hand lifts my chin when the darkness is too much

and You wipe the tears from my face.

You pursue me like a Shepherd with a wayward sheep

And bring me back into Your arms 

For the rest of my life."

Psalm 23 (Liz-version)

As I was reading Psalm 23 this week in my Bible, I noticed a handwritten note to the side I must have jotted down many years ago.  It read, "Per Mary Hicks: 'You can't avoid the darkest valley; you can't go under it, nor over it, nor around it.  But you can walk through it with the comfort of knowing that God is by your side."

Many of us knew Mary Hicks......and we knew the dark valley she herself walked through.  Her death was not an easy death....and I have to believe the 23rd Psalm were words that comforted her as she and God walked through the darkness together.  I didn't know her well.....but I knew her well enough.  She lived these words.

As the winds blow and the storm clouds gather above you, do what King David and Mary Hicks did;  lift your face to the sky and feel the breeze and know it is God's reminder that He is walking with you.....not in front of you; not behind you.....but beside you.

Be at peace.