Meditation 1: Psalm 131
8/25/2009 7:59:58 PM
Psalm 131: But I have calmed and quieted my soul, like a weaned child with its mother…
When I imagine a weaned child, I imagine the child resting comfortably and securely in the arms of its mother, head against her breast, listening to her heartbeat. I imagine contentment so deep that the soul is quieted.
Although we are beloved and God is always present, there’s much about life that wants to undermine our trust in divine compassion. Our sense of security is challenged by loss. We know, for life has taught us, that we are not ultimately in control of all we experience. The more that comes home to us, the more frightened we are. There are so many things we’re powerless to change and in the midst of it, we can’t be absolutely sure what matters in life as it has become.
When everything is that uncertain, where do we go, to whom do we turn, so that life might not overwhelm us?
“O Lord…I have quieted my soul…” We turn more fully into the light of God, and there we find the answer to every worry that plagues us and ever fear that haunts our well-being. Fear flourishes in the darkness of ‘what might be’; God’s presence throws light into that darkness and shows us what is.
If we can live believing that we are surrounded by grace and that every moment is saturated with God’s love, we can quiet our fears so that God’s gentle whisper can be heard, the whisper that promises we are safely held and we are being guided. Nothing in existence, and certainly not fear, can quite match the light of that truth.
God, who formed me, let me lean in contentment on you. Amen.
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