Trust in the Lord with all your heart
And do not lean on your own understanding.
In all your ways acknowledge Him,
And He will make your paths straight. (Proverbs 3:5-6)
I first learned these verses as a song, from a camp counselor at Singin' River Ranch in Evergreen, Colorado, in the summer of 1985. Camp was such a special time in my life. I only went for two summers, but those two three-week periods in the Rocky Mountains contain some of my happiest memories.
Singin' River was kind of like Wordsworth's daffodils for me; years later, when life got bad, when I was depressed or even suicidal, when I was beating myself up over some stupid things I'd done, when I felt like everyone hated me, I could remember being at camp, and how, for a short time, I'd been at peace. And for a few moments, at least, I would get a release from the despair. My heart rate would slow down and I could start breathing normally again.
We all need a place where we can escape, somewhere that we can release our cares and our worries. Where, for a moment, "the heavy and the weary weight / Of all this unintelligible world, / Is lightened." (I clearly have Wordsworth on the brain tonight!)
For me, at least in the past few months, that place has been in prayer and meditation, and in studying God's word.
In the verses above, some translations use "submit to Him" rather than "acknowledge Him." "Submit" isn't a very popular word these days ... but there is a certain release in submitting to something, particularly when it is something (or someone) that you trust has your greater good in mind. Even now, many of us are submitting to the government's social-distancing and stay-at-home orders. A few are griping, but I think most of us realize that this is for the greater good of flattening the curve and keeping our communities healthy. We don't imagine that we're just blindly following orders. And hasn't it been nice, on some level, to release some of the cares that came with "normal life"? The appointments, the zipping here and there for this class or that meeting, the social obligations, the meals on the run?
When I submit to God, when I choose not to lean on my own understanding, it's not that I'm deciding to be a non-thinker; it's that I'm deciding for the greater good, to submit to God's word and His will, to relinquish my own sense of control, to release my iron-grip over my own life. And with that release comes a profound sense of peace, and joy. Ask anyone who has spent time with me in the past couple of months; they'll tell you that I'm nothing like the anxiety-ridden person I was eight or ten months ago, or the depressive that I've been for much of my adult life.
Release. It's scary to let go, but in return comes, to quote Wordsworth yet again, "abundant recompense."
Today's photo: Visiting Singin' River Ranch in 2019, 34 long summers (with the length of 34 long winters!) after I was a camper there.
(Extra points for the first person to who (1) has read this entire rambling post and (2) can identify the two poems I referred to just now!)
And do not lean on your own understanding.
In all your ways acknowledge Him,
And He will make your paths straight. (Proverbs 3:5-6)
I first learned these verses as a song, from a camp counselor at Singin' River Ranch in Evergreen, Colorado, in the summer of 1985. Camp was such a special time in my life. I only went for two summers, but those two three-week periods in the Rocky Mountains contain some of my happiest memories.
Singin' River was kind of like Wordsworth's daffodils for me; years later, when life got bad, when I was depressed or even suicidal, when I was beating myself up over some stupid things I'd done, when I felt like everyone hated me, I could remember being at camp, and how, for a short time, I'd been at peace. And for a few moments, at least, I would get a release from the despair. My heart rate would slow down and I could start breathing normally again.
We all need a place where we can escape, somewhere that we can release our cares and our worries. Where, for a moment, "the heavy and the weary weight / Of all this unintelligible world, / Is lightened." (I clearly have Wordsworth on the brain tonight!)
For me, at least in the past few months, that place has been in prayer and meditation, and in studying God's word.
In the verses above, some translations use "submit to Him" rather than "acknowledge Him." "Submit" isn't a very popular word these days ... but there is a certain release in submitting to something, particularly when it is something (or someone) that you trust has your greater good in mind. Even now, many of us are submitting to the government's social-distancing and stay-at-home orders. A few are griping, but I think most of us realize that this is for the greater good of flattening the curve and keeping our communities healthy. We don't imagine that we're just blindly following orders. And hasn't it been nice, on some level, to release some of the cares that came with "normal life"? The appointments, the zipping here and there for this class or that meeting, the social obligations, the meals on the run?
When I submit to God, when I choose not to lean on my own understanding, it's not that I'm deciding to be a non-thinker; it's that I'm deciding for the greater good, to submit to God's word and His will, to relinquish my own sense of control, to release my iron-grip over my own life. And with that release comes a profound sense of peace, and joy. Ask anyone who has spent time with me in the past couple of months; they'll tell you that I'm nothing like the anxiety-ridden person I was eight or ten months ago, or the depressive that I've been for much of my adult life.
Release. It's scary to let go, but in return comes, to quote Wordsworth yet again, "abundant recompense."
Today's photo: Visiting Singin' River Ranch in 2019, 34 long summers (with the length of 34 long winters!) after I was a camper there.
(Extra points for the first person to who (1) has read this entire rambling post and (2) can identify the two poems I referred to just now!)
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