Psalm 23 is probably one of the most quoted psalms of the Bible.  I memorized it as a child but hadn’t really even thought of this Psalm for awhile, until tonight, as I went down to the river.  It had been a day of a lot of activity, good and bad and like so many days, a day when I was aware that there is much in this life, in this world, in my home even, that I cannot control.  I can respond to, but not control, a majority of things.  So, when I picked up my son and his friend I asked them if they’d like to eat their dinner by the river tonight, I was so glad when they were on board.  So we picked up food from the dollar menu and drove the short distance to eat dinner on a picnic table by the water’s edge just as the sun was setting in the sky.

And…… I exhaled for what felt like the first time today.  As  I walked I remembered the verse, “He leads me beside quiet waters, He restores my soul.” He leads me…He draws me to that place of solace, of wide open spaces that is uncomplicated and beyond myself.  Yes, He leads me.  And yes, it definitely refreshed me to just stop and see something so much bigger than myself. His Word refreshes.   His Presence restores.  And He knows what we need more than we do. I had no clue how much I needed to just get out of my house and breathe.  But God knows and when that still small voice beckons us to ‘quiet waters’, it might be good to just get in the car or step out on the deck or sit on the front porch steps for a few moments.  He leads.  And when we follow,I can’t help but think that those around us will be refreshed as well…

Here’s to God leading, and us following His lead…