Psalm 107 ~ their desired haven

Psalm 107

Oh give thanks to the Lord, for he is good,
    for his steadfast love endures forever!
² Let the redeemed of the Lord say so,
    whom he has redeemed from trouble
³ and gathered in from the lands,
    from the east and from the west,
    from the north and from the south.

⁴ Some wandered in desert wastes,
    finding no way to a city to dwell in;
 
⁵ hungry and thirsty,
    their soul fainted within them.
⁶ Then they cried to the Lord in their trouble,
    and he delivered them from their distress.
⁷ He led them by a straight way
    till they reached a city to dwell in.
⁸  Let them thank the Lord for his steadfast love,
    for his wondrous works to the children of man!
⁹ For he satisfies the longing soul,
     and the hungry soul he fills with good things.

¹⁰  Some sat in darkness and in the shadow of death,
    prisoners in affliction and in irons,
¹¹ for they had rebelled against the words of God,
    and spurned the counsel of the Most High.
¹² So he bowed their hearts down with hard labor;
    they fell down, with none to help.
¹³  Then they cried to the Lord in their trouble,
    and he delivered them from their distress.
¹⁴ He brought them out of darkness and the shadow of death,
    and burst their bonds apart.
¹⁵  Let them thank the Lord for his steadfast love,
    for his wondrous works to the children of man!
¹⁶ For he shatters the doors of bronze
    and cuts in two the bars of iron.

¹⁷ Some were fools through their sinful ways,
    and because of their iniquities suffered affliction;
¹⁸  they loathed any kind of food,
    and they drew near to the gates of death.
¹⁹  Then they cried to the Lord in their trouble,
    and he delivered them from their distress.
²⁰ He sent out his word and healed them,
    and delivered them from their destruction.
²¹  Let them thank the Lord for his steadfast love,
    for his wondrous works to the children of man!
²² And let them offer sacrifices of thanksgiving,
    and tell of his deeds in songs of joy!

²³ Some went down to the sea in ships,
    doing business on the great waters;
²⁴ they saw the deeds of the Lord,
    his wondrous works in the deep.
²⁵ For he commanded and raised the stormy wind,
    which lifted up the waves of the sea.
²⁶ They mounted up to heaven; they went down to the depths;
    their courage melted away in their evil plight;
²⁷ they reeled and staggered like drunken men
    and were at their wits' end.
²⁸  Then they cried to the Lord in their trouble,
    and he delivered them from their distress.
²⁹ He made the storm be still,
    and the waves of the sea were hushed.
³⁰ Then they were glad that the waters were quiet,
    and he brought them to their desired haven.
³¹  Let them thank the Lord for his steadfast love,
    for his wondrous works to the children of man!
³² Let them extol him in the congregation of the people,
    and praise him in the assembly of the elders.

³³ He turns rivers into a desert,
    springs of water into thirsty ground,
³⁴  a fruitful land into a salty waste,
    because of the evil of its inhabitants.
³⁵ He turns a desert into pools of water,
     a parched land into springs of water.
³⁶ And there he lets the hungry dwell,
    and they establish a city to live in;
³⁷ they sow fields and plant vineyards
    and get a fruitful yield.
³⁸  By his blessing they multiply greatly,
    and he does not let their livestock diminish.

³⁹ When they are diminished and brought low
    through oppression, evil, and sorrow,
⁴⁰  he pours contempt on princes
    and makes them wander in trackless wastes;
⁴¹ but he raises up the needy out of affliction
    and makes their families like flocks.
⁴²  The upright see it and are glad,
    and all wickedness shuts its mouth.

⁴³  Whoever is wise, let him attend to these things;
    let them consider the steadfast love of the Lord.

Psalm 107 is one of my favorite Psalms because it hits me where I live. And it evokes all kinds of emotions and memories for me. My husband loves and has loved working in the print industry for 16 years of the 21 years worked; the economy has hit this industry. And it is commission, earned pay. Some years he has led the sales force and others we have really, really, really struggled. Usually on Memorial Day and a few times at Christmas.

When the boys were very little, I went to a showcase house in Dallas and prayed. I prayed, LORD all of the earth is Your's. If You would just give Your Word, I would have a showcase home. And I promise I would be nice to everyone. And I remembered my prayer again when my son, Cal and I went to the Dallas Arboretum and we had a very memorable prayer about home and asking God's will.We moved into our lovely 3rd home after having the opportunity to completely paint and re-do the interior of our second home for 10 months making all that work, profitable. We'd lived in the house about 6 weeks when the neighbors told us, it had been the showcase house for our area in ... 1990ish. It had been a house we had both decided we would own from looking through the front door glass and seeing a pond named Long Lake.

And having blue dragonflies didn't hurt. Long Lake is the lake in "The Hobbit" before they meet the dragon.  And "The Hobbit" is somthing we have read and been read to as children and love.  Allen, our minister friend, dragged us to all the Trilogy movies.

But home faces financial times, family times and change.  And so Psalm 107 is my desired haven, and at the same time, the wild winds of life have done their worst. Especially during Hurricane Ike and infant stillbirth.

Today, we have been blessed to know we will be able to live in this house and leave it to grandchildren if we want to. And blessed to have two healthy sons in their early 20s.  A college graduate who returned to show us, what it is really like to live with a fraternity boy away from home for 5 years.  And a younger son who turned 21 this summer.

Today, I cleaned a side yard, a back yard, rounded up weeds, cleaned up a childhood fort with a new awning, carted trash around, cleaned out a composter, scraped algae,  arranged charitable donations, cleaned a closet, a bedroom, a bathroom, a guest bath, promised to clean another closed and discovered my husband's office looks exactly like... Animal House. I don't clean happily. In fact, I think about bodily harm in disgust and I make weird noises and shutter.  My grandmother loved to say she was privileged to have loved ones to clean for. And valuable ideas and convictions formed in her mind.  It leaves me.... upset.  Because I want them there, no doubt. I just want to tazer them. I want them to sing Clean Up with Barney. I don't want to find I now have a new 6 pack waiting for me in an unlikely place. Or week old glasses. Or dog vomit and diarrhea.  And fruit smoothy that looks like that. On expensive wooden boxes.

And then in the middle of remembering French curse words from my childhood, I sit down to read and write the blog. And here it is - Psalm 107. My desired haven.

From Ghoulies and Ghosties and Long Legged Beasties .......................... - And things that go bump in the night, like college aged vampires, -  GOOD LORD - Deliver us.


And Lord, Father God, help me to remember. Voices that used to sing the Barney Song can easily move to China for years. Prayer for my husband as he visits the GP and the urologist and possibly the neurologist. He has had one week of a respiratory illness, a cyst, and some memory issues.  Help me each day to remember the really good things my Grandmother felt so dearly. Keep me out of the tazer store. And let gratitude and joy be the guide to the LOVE You have for all of us.

Your Word, Lord GOD, my FATHER, is still Living and Active. Able to make hearts new.

 In the highest name of Jesus Christ the LORD.

 Amen.


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