From Sunup to Sundown

As I drove from home this morning, a favorite song of mine came over the radio...Bless the Lord, O my soul, O my soul.  Worship His holy name.  Sing like never before, O my soul.  I'll worship Your holy name.  The sun comes up, it's a new day dawning; it's time to sing your song again...

My first stop this morning was a place that has slowly grown to be very special to me.  It's sitting on a dock on a small pond at the church where I can block out distractions and it's just God, me, and nature.  So I like to come here and talk with my Father.  He speaks to me through His word and His beauty made manifest around me...His enormous blue sky, water reflecting the tall pines towering above, birds soaring high, little turtle heads peeping out of the water, a Belted Kingfisher with a freshly-caught fish pierced on its beak, the wind whispering through the pines.   It's here where time slows and my Father reminds me He has a plan for my life and the lives around me.  And He reminds me who I am.  The Creator God of all the universe and the beauty that I see around me, created me too, and delights over me with singing.  My value is based not on my failures or successes but on the infinite worthiness of His Son.

I would have stayed there on the dock with God all day if the sun had not begun roasting my skin, bringing me to remember things to be done.

The day unfolded rather difficultly, with much overwhelmingness and fear about certain things to come.  As I turned into my neighborhood 12 hours later, the same song crossed the radio and seemed to tie a bow on a day that was rough but nonetheless God-filled...Whatever may pass, and whatever lies before me, Let me be singing when the evening comes.  Bless the Lord, O my soul, O my soul.  Worship His holy name.  Sing like never before, O my soul.  I'll worship Your holy name. 

The psalmists words I had read earlier on the dock came back to mind..."It is good to praise the Lord and make music to your name, O Most High, to proclaim your love in the morning and your faithfulness at night" (92:1-2).