Little Rick was excited about the task - but he just couldn't remember the Psalm. After much practice, he could barely get past the first line. On the day that the kids were scheduled to recite Psalm 23 in front of the congregation, Ricky was so nervous.
When it was his turn, he stepped up to the microphone and said proudly, "The Lord is my Shepherd, and that's all I need to know."
Our world is filled with a lot of turmoil, isn't it? Seems it's always been that way. But some days our own personal worlds seem to be a bit overwhelming. Sometimes it's something we can actually identify, but other times we can't really put our thumbs on it. There's just a sense that something isn't right, and we don't know how to fix it. We're sort of like the quote I read by Marion Howard: "Life is like a blanket too short. You pull it up and your toes rebel, you yank it down and shivers meander about your shoulder, but cheerful folks manage to draw their knees up and pass a very comfortable night."
But let's relax just a bit. Life is full of heartache, challenge, grief and frustration. That's just, well, life! But it's also full of joy, beauty, accomplishment and purpose. But only as we take the hand of our Master and submit to His leading to do things His way can we know the abundant life He told us about and that He came to give.
Bottom line: "The Lord is my shepherd, and that's all we need to know."
--Rocky Henriques, www.uticabc.com