Excerpt from funeral message based on Psalm 23, part 2.
Ours was often a transitional life.
By the time I was 16 I had lived in 13 different places, and mom was blessed that God often and finally provided some still waters. Our home on the mountain was one of those places. So was the farm at Ft. Ogden. And finally she was blessed in her later life to sit and watch the mostly tranquil waters of Lemon Bay. As Katie and I have been sitting in her backyard for the last few evenings, we’ve thought about the times mom and dad must have sat there together, resting and contemplating the grace of God.
The Lord provides these times and places, although we have to learn how to recognize them and appreciate them. At home Katie and I are learning to sit on the porch and sip a cup of tea. Each of us is led to still waters, although we often fail to drink. Attending to these times is a discipline of the heart. It is here where he restores our soul. It is here we find the strength to follow the path of righteousness for His name’s sake.
The good shepherd knows where the deep pools are. He leads us there, he meets us there and he fills us there. Jesus tells us those who hunger and thirst after righteousness will be filled, and that he himself is the everlasting water, and that he alone can quench our thirst.
Augustine put it this way: “Oh God! Thou hast made us for thyself and our souls are restless, searching, till they find their rest in thee.” When we are led beside the still waters we can drink deeply and rest. We cultivate those habits of life that bring us time and time again to the still waters, and all those habits reflect our willingness to be led by him.
He leads us beside the still waters.
the daysman 