Pond-er this

A series inspired by a visit to Kauai.
Flowers abound both in Kauai’s volcanic-rich soil and its bodies of water, like this pond lily (also called “water lily”). In its serene setting, this pond lily seemed to illustrate this verse: “He leads me beside quiet waters.”

Yes, I know that Psalm 23 depicts a shepherd leading, feeding, and protecting his sheep.  By powerful analogy, this is how Christ tends to us in our stupid sheep-ways. The “quiet waters” refers to how sheep won’t drink from rushing streams. They want slower, less-threatening flows. But they need to be led away from stagnant waters that would make them sick.

Similarly, the pond lily needs still, shallow waters to protect that fragile link of the underwater stem rooted in the pond mud and connected to the floating flower and leaves. We, too, need roots in “quiet places” to survive in today’s hectic busyness. God seemed to reinforce that concept the other day when I stopped for a school bus dropping off high school students. Nearly all were absorbed in their smart phones as they wandered helter-skelter across the street, oblivious to waiting traffic. And they’re just one slice of our media-dependent lifestyle.

 Such constant connection to the rushing world can impair our connection to God. We need those pull-away times, the “quiet waters” breaks, to reconnect with God. Today began for me with a headache that I suspected surfaced from my concern and frustration over spiritually- and emotionally-needy people in my life. I found my “pond,” my rocker, and in the quiet just sat then read some scripture. As only He could have arranged it, one of the scriptures was Psalm 23.  Yes, “He leads me beside quiet waters.”
 

I also thought of an old hymn, “Breathe on Me, Breath of God.” Based on John 20:22 (where Jesus commissioned His disciples after His resurrection), the 1878 hymn by church history scholar Edwin Hatch begins:

Breathe on Me, Breath of God, Fill me with life anew,
That I may love what Thou dost love, and do what Thou wouldst do.

When I left my place of “quiet waters” this morning, that was the message: Don’t fret, be refreshed in Jesus, just keep doing what He would do.”