Peering Through the Cracks

Happy are the people whose strength is in You! Whose hearts are set on the pilgrims’ way.  Psalm 84:4

One sometimes feels, um, guilty, for being happy.  I mean icebergs are melting, thousands of desperate people are lining up at the Tunisia border and even their bags of rice are being taken away before they can cross, in Arizona anyone can carry an unlicensed concealed weapon anywhere they dang well please, and besides, the price of tomatoes has tripled in one week.

And yet there is a simple beauty in being happy.  This is enough.  It is a declaration of freedom.  It is being grateful for the sun, for the air, for the precise beauties that peer through the cracks at every turn.   I think this is all the uncomplicated childlike faith that makes Jesus smile.  And gave Him the strength to step into Golgotha. 

And on a pilgrimage there are those peaks that one has clambered up, with some pretty heavy breathing and maybe even a few spots where you had to grab down and pull up because the way was so rough, where you can pause, to catch your breath, and look back.  And looking back, one can see the faithful Hand of God, shaping, catching, guiding, protecting, and although one cannot see around the bend ahead, and one has no idea what dips and turns lie ahead, it is enough to be happy. 

Dear LORD, thank You. For my part, I will sing of Your strength; I will celebrate your love in the morning; For You have become my stronghold, a refuge in the day of my trouble. To You, O my Strength, will I sing; for You, O God, are my stronghold and my merciful God.