Food for the Journey
Devotion
July 16, 2020
Ann Beck
Happy are those…whose hope is in the Lord their God, who made heaven and earth,
the sea, and all that is in them; who keeps faith forever ~
Psalm 146:6
This week in worship we give thanks for the waters of creation, and in particular celebrate Lake Superior Sunday.
For as long as I can recall, my “happy place” has been in, on, or around water. From the exhilaration of joyful play as a child, to the sleepy peacefulness of long evening rides in my grandpa’s homemade pontoon, lakes fill my childhood memories – and bodies of water have had an emotional, gravitational pull on me ever since.
What is it that draws us to water? Could it be that because our bodies are 60% water they sense the kindred nature? Or recognize the source of essential hydration? Perhaps. For me, however, being near water, more than any other place, is where God’s creative power and presence fills me, and stills me. Along a quiet shoreline or a forest-lined river, God’s restoring peace brings calm. Sitting on the ancient rocks banking Lake Superior, with each steady roll of waves I feel washed with grace, and the retreat of the swells absorbs my worries and bears them away. And while paddling on the vastness of the big waters under the expansive heavens, I am made humbly aware of the magnificence of creation and of my very tiny part in it – and at the same time experience the wonderment of connection with it all, each and everything vitally loved and held together by the Creator.
O God, the source of all life, you are the living water which enlivens our very beings. Keep us mindful of the life-giving waters of your creation, through which you nourish and sustain life on earth. As co-creatures, may we be humble and diligent stewards of this great and awesome gift. Amen