Psalm 13 - Two Reflections on One Psalm

Ok - two reflections on one Psalm. I had one thing in heart (pun intended as you’ll see below) most of the day and then tonight as I was sneaking in a dog walk before a denominational zoom meeting tonight, something else caught my heart. So, let’s go with both.

Both have to do with the last verses of this Psalm. The first several verses are laments once again - calling to God about feeling that God has abandoned them, the deep and real pain of heartache and grief. But it is the last few verses that really spoke to me last night and through today. After the laments, comes this:

Gladden my heart with your responding
And I will sing your songs
In this sudden opening to you

It was especially that last line... in this sudden opening to you.

That immediate, unexpected thing that shows up, especially when life is heavy.

Reflection Number 1

A few days ago, my sister sent me a photo of a spot near her home that has one of those sudden openings whenever it rains. Here it is.

Whenever it rains, this heart shows up on the concrete. Why? No idea. How? No idea. But the why and how don’t matter - just how awesome is that? That when the world is nourished, it responds with love. Interestingly a few days after, I saw this...

I don’t know if it is a similar thing to what my sister saw with her’s (beacuse we hadn’t had any rain) but it still was a sudden opening to you/love.

Reflection Number Two

I thought that Psalm 13 would simply have been those two hearts seen on concrete and asphalt until tonight. I was walking by a shop near my house and saw a bunch of t-shirts and sweatshirts hanging in the window (which I had never seen before with this shop). One of them made me stop.

For a bit of context, first for those who are not familiar, there’s a billboard on I-71 between Cincinnati and Columbus that says, in bold letters, “Hell is Real” - it isn’t a pretty thing to see as one is driving north. (I’m not going to include a link to a photo of it here - but pretty easy to find with a quick search). That highway sign doesn’t exactly say “God is love.” But this one? Yeah - this is pretty awesome.

This shirt, along with a bunch of other options hanging in the window, are the creation of a local Cincinnati artist named Corey Schultz. I mentioned to one of the employees of the shop how beautiful it is and she gave me a sticker with the same design.

That’s a sign I’d rather see on the interstate.

Seeing it in the window was a sudden opening to you/love and I wonder what an actual sign on the interstate would be as people drove... a sudden opening to you/love.

Grace, Peace, Love, and Joy,
Ed

PS - Funny other moment today… our congregation was collecting small bags/suitcases to donate to organizations helping children transition into foster care. We ended up donating about 60 bags for that specific program along with several hundred others that will be used for other projects at this location. Anyway, as I was loading some of the bags in my car, I saw this one (the bag was a bit wonky in the photo)

Total flashback moment. I HAD THAT SAME BAG BACK IN HIGH SCHOOL when I thought that Drakkar Noir was the best cologne in the world! #flashback

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