Psalms

Hope in the Unfailing Love of God

Looking around at all that is going on in the world, it is easy to become discouraged. We are tempted to distract ourselves from our internal agitation by diving in to a tub of ice cream and a good Netflix binge session. There are few things I love more than an evening on my couch with Coolhaus Campfire S’More, my daughter and a comedy series.

While that is a comforting short term solution, in the long run we will face even more problems if we continue to use food and entertainment as a bandaid for our emotions and spiritual questions.

Instead, I would like to suggest using turning to the Psalms.

When You Struggle to Pray

When my daughter got her license and I retired from my position as her chauffeur, I started to volunteer at an after school program offered through our church. All of the children were first generation students who needed a native speaker to help them with their homework. The children’s English was fantastic, but most had no one at home who could listen to them read out loud or explain American history. If I am honest, neither the parents nor I could really help with the math.

At the end of the day we would see the parents. Some were fluent and wanted to hear all about the afternoon. Some had not yet gained confidence with their English and took advantage of their child’s fluency to translate. They were interested and attentive, but sometimes that was only communicated to me by their presence and a smile.