Psalm 139
Oh Lord you have searched and know me… You hem me in behind and before…
Such knowledge is too wonderful for me
Some guests come to my garden and just love hanging out in the sunshine. Tea, cake, chatter and laughter. This is all they remember; all they want to do.
Some come and they notice the golden yellow climbing rose, the damask sweet pea, the scent of jasmine in June, the high lemon gladioli. They like the games on the lawn, watch newts in the pond, lounge on cushioned chairs. They comment, compare, digress. Tell me of their garden. Enjoy for a while.
But I am the gardener and designer. I arranged all this. I planted all this, way back when. And I watch over it each day and notice. I know where the hidden bluebells are, the single raspberry cane amongst the roses. I know that the little path to the pond is made by the toad as he waddles to the pond each night. I know that when the large white clematis dies back, the little lavender climber will raise her head and weave herself around the faded leaves. I wait for it each year. I know where she is, and look after her while she grows in autumn, and tend her while she sleeps the rest of the year
Sometimes we can feel overlooked, overgrown, not planted anywhere in particular in this world. Our past is confusing, our future foggy, our present doesn’t make sense. We feel the “sense that in this universe we are treated as strangers” (CSLewis). But feelings, though needed, don’t always tell the truth. The truth that the Gardener knows us and our unique and individual traits and ways. The ways and traits he designed. He is interested in us. He always turns aside and notices us. Even when we don’t know it, He is always watching over us. He accepts, acknowledges and welcomes us. I also thing that is WONDER FULL.
- Read over Psalm 139.
- Write out verses 1 – 6 on a card
- Replace the words “I” and “me” with our name
- Now read it again every day… He knows you
Into the heart of things 