Once Again, There is Beauty

My eyes cracked open this morning to see an overcast sky peering between the slats of my blinds and through the branches of the sleeping lilac outside my bedroom window. Cool air drifted in through the open window above my head and bathed my skin in such sweet cool intoxication. It's not until my lungs have been deprived of that fresh air that I realize how much it soothes me to breathe in the wildness of the sky. My favorite blanket was tucked up to my chin and as I watched the branches swaying in the breeze I realized just how happy I was at that moment. To wake up bathed in fresh air and my heart pulsating the thoughts of the King and the songs that give Him praise. So I sought those words I have known since I was a tiny child: Psalm 23. It has been those words that have shaped and molded my life; it is those words that show me that my Savior's path is a pleasant one, and He wishes to protect and provide for me; His plans are to help and heal me--to give me a future and a hope--to anoint my head with oil and make my cup of blessings run over. My Lord, and my God is my shepherd, in Him, I have no wants. He makes me sleep inside the calm of green pastures, He holds my hand and bids me drink beside brooks of the stillest waters--pure and wholesome. When my soul is shredded and torn by my own mistakes and the ugliness of the world, He restores it; He wipes His fingers across my many wounds and heals them in a moment. He leads me in the paths in which righteousness and goodness reigns, in the paths only He has been able to make, and He does this so His name will be praised through what He has done for me. Even though I walk through the valley of death and fear, in which every soul claws to eat my flesh, I will not fear, because He is with me, and He holds my hands. His rod corrects me when I turn astray and His staff reaches out to bring me back into His path and arms. They are my comfort in my darkest days. My God, He prepares a table before me, in which my thirsty soul is fed and sustained, and all this in the presence of those who hate me and use me. He pours the oil of blessing upon my head and makes my face shine with the glory of His face; in all this, my cup, it overflows; I am abundantly blessed, my soul is kept and guarded safe in my Father's strong loving hands. Surely this goodness and His mercy will follow me all the days of my life, and after this life shall pass, I shall dwell in the very house and throne room of my God, singing the praise of the One who always remained faithful no matter how many times I sought arms not meant for me to hold--no matter how many times I turned my face away in anger and bitterness--no matter how many times I ran from His searching gaze. This God, He loves me. He loves me so deeply that nothing can ever tear Him away from me.