from Rachel: Bless the Lord

Glance back on the Word Biblical Commentary translation of Psalm 134 and write the basic message of the final Psalm of Ascent:

“Come bless YAHWEH, worship Him, and be blessed by Him.”

I chose the WBC translation because I knew we’d more likely notice the repetition of the less familiar Yahweh than the expected title, Lord. How many times is the name used in the three short verses? “five”

Briefly summarize Peterson’s basic point in your own words:

“Get on with it! Don’t stall or get distracted”

Give this exercise some thought before you complete it: list, some highs, lows, celebrations, and frustrations you’ve experienced over the course of our study of the Psalms of Ascent:
Highs – “a great long weekend with Kevin in Tennessee; raise for me; promotion for Randy; annual bonus; IRS refund”
Lows – “others’ burdens to share: Kerstin, Susie, elderly friends and family, the Willson family; emotional fatigue from same”
Celebrations – “Easter; Will’s birthday; Randy’s birthday; Dave’s visit”
Frustrations – “recurrent car problems; house repair needs; financial drain of these and other things”

Read Job 35:9-10 and describe the point you believe he was trying to make:

“When we joyfully worship, we know God is near. We feel Him with us, unlike the times of trouble when we don’t feel Him carrying us. (not quite the right answer) In times of peace and security, people don’t seek God; they’re content as things are (corrected answer)”

Read 2 Chronicles 20:21 and record the action. “He appointed men to go ahead of the army singing to the Lord and praising Him.”

Now read verse 22. What did God do? “God set up ambushes against the enemies and they were defeated (by fighting each other (23)).”

Beloved, worship is all we’ve discussed, but it is also warfare. What is the very first word of the Holman Christian Standard Bible’s translation of Psalm 134:1? “‘Now’”

Has God lit up your sky with lightning that you’ve not yet answered with thunder? Can you think of anything recently that you got too busy to stop and really thank Him for? That happens to me too. Let’s make a little thunder right here:

“Tuesday was great – thank You again for the extra two hours from no kids to watch – so I could clean up my kitchen, then a delicious lunch with Randy (absolutely), no cavities (even after three years for him), a really successful pre-bowl (about 380 for me; about 460 for Randy), delightful unplanned stop at Comix Revolution, a successful recipe made out of leftover appetizer stuffed into chicken breasts; thank you, Lord for giving a day far above expectations (and I expected it to be pretty good already)”

You and I are not on our way to a funeral like many of those who surround us. We who are in Christ are on our way to a wedding of such glorious and expensive proportions that we will have to change our clothes from mortal to immortal just to survive the thrill.

Dearest Rachel –

Reading (and responding to) notes like these from this temporal distance can be a strange experience. For all that the last section you underlined speaks how “we are not on our way to a funeral,” the fact that I’ve been to yours renders so much of what you expressed gratitude for, the things and times you found significant and important, so much less so. Your mention of our Tuesday evening bowling scores, as good as they were for the both of us, leave me smiling ruefully, as I remember how competitive I was back then, and how I’d get so angry with myself when I didn’t have a good game (my ‘Mendoza Line’ was 120, if I recall correctly, and while I didn’t drop below that all that often, I remember what my temper was like when I did; it wasn’t the sort of thing for a church bowling league). I’ve kept my ball, somewhere, but I haven’t been bowling for over a decade, now. I won’t say the alleys died with you, but there are a lot fewer than there were during our days together.

Similarly, the thought of going to Kevin’s place is no longer a thing, either. After two visits, one with Chompers in his wheelchair and another with just Daniel and I, he fell to an accident nearly as freakish as yours (okay, road accidents are a bit more common, but they’re still unexpected); there’s no reason to travel to Tennessee anymore. It’s weird to think that we never bothered to see the sights of Nashville for all those time we went, but we both know that wasn’t the point of those trips. Now that the point is gone, I doubt either of us will head that way again.

I wish I could remember this day that you thought of as so special. I can tell from your description that I stayed home from work for the sake of my dentist appointment, allowing the two of us to spend a little time together in a way that we usually didn’t of a weekday. Our last eighteen months together, at least, got to be a succession of such days; not every couple gets a chance to retire and live together – and we even managed to do a few unusual things, like traveling a bit, before the curtain came down, first on the world, with the quarantines, and then on you with the accident.

Once you run out of days, every one past seems special in retrospect, but were ignored or glossed over as fairly ordinary at the time. You could see the little pleasures in life and remember them, like you did here, but as I read your words, I wish I could project myself back into that day, remembering when it was, and what it was like again.

Then again, some of the fears and concerns are no longer a part of life, either, and I can’t help but say “good riddance” to them. The thoughts of bills and repairs – and specifically, worries about “how will we pay for these? can we push this off a little longer until we can?” – are but a distant memory as well. Even the fact that we would clutch each other in support as we made our way through those tough times leave me ambivalent – do I want to forget those days of financial fear, or do I wish desperately to still have you to cling to in the midst of them? It certainly feels unfair that you didn’t have long to enjoy that time of freedom.

Then again, the freedom you’re enjoying at this point, at the wedding celebration Ms. Moore describes, I always assume to be so much more wonderful than I could even imagine, that you wouldn’t want to return here even if the opportunity presented itself to you. I wish I knew what that was like, and what you were – are – able to see and participate in. Would that I could keep an eye on you for the moment.

Maybe I need to thank and praise God for what He allowed me to have – and what He still allows me to have – rather than constantly sighing wistfully about what was. Then, perhaps, He will bless me again in turn – or, more to the point, I’ll better recognize the blessings He’s already giving me, and add to the gratitude loop between the two of us. Wish me luck at that, though, honey – I’m going to need it.