I'm Back! As some of you know I was taking some time off last week. I wrote last Monday that I was spending some time with Besty's family at a house near Red Wing. It was a great time spent with extending family. After a few days with them we headed up to Grand Marais for a couple nights. I spoke last week about being still. Being still and experiencing God. That was my hope to be able to do that a bit while enjoying the North Shore of Lake Superior.
My family and I try to make it up to Grand Marais once a year. While up there we like to enjoy some Worlds Best Donuts, Jave Moose Coffee and Some Sven and Oles Pizza. Mission was accomplished on all those. It was a little tougher to get all that done as the doughnut shop and the Pizza place were operating a little different than normal and were closed Tuesday and Wednesday while we were up there. Luckily Betsy has a cousin that lives in Grand Marais and was able to pick up our doughnut order before we had gotten up there and they were closed. Sven and Ole's we had to order from an outside window and wait an hour and fifteen minutes but it was well worth it. We got the pizza and sat next to the lake. It was later in the evening and were able to enjoy a pretty amazing sunset as pictured above.
So with on Tuesday with pizza and doughnuts in our belly and our cup of coffee from Java Moose we set out for the main goal witch was a bit of relaxation. A nice thing about his trip to Grand Marais is that we were staying right in town and could walk where ever we wanted while there. One of my favorite places in the state is right in town. Artist Point is a little wooded area that juts out into Lake Superior. You walk through the woods and it opens up to a clearing of rocks surrounded by water. We got out there early in the morning so there weren't many people... really we saw no other people out there except in fishing boats and kayaks on the lake and we just sat. We probably sat by the lake for a half an hour just enjoying the sunshine and the sound of the waves hitting the shore. My 13 year old daughter informed us she felt like she wanted to just lay there for the day and take a nap. That's my idea of being still.
The reading from Sunday Psalm 23 says
1 The Lord is my shepherd, I lack nothing.
2 He makes me lie down in green pastures,
he leads me beside quiet waters,
3 he refreshes my soul.
He guides me along the right paths
for his name’s sake.
4 Even though I walk
through the darkest valley,
I will fear no evil,
for you are with me;
your rod and your staff,
they comfort me.
5 You prepare a table before me
in the presence of my enemies.
You anoint my head with oil;
my cup overflows.
6 Surely your goodness and love will follow me
all the days of my life, and I will
dwell in the house of the Lord
forever.
I was thinking about that scripture this last week as I knew that was coming up for the service. It's a well known scripture that I've heard many times before too. It says that "He leads me beside quiet water, He refreshes my soul" These waters weren't the quietest waters I've ever heard but I sure felt refreshed. I was thinking how funny that was. I thought about how there are so many times in life how the waters aren't calm, how things around us seem so crazy and out of control. One thing I find a lot of comfort in though is in verse four. The words "You are with me." While on the road last week I heard those words in a song and it was very powerful. God is with us. I already knew this but for some reason it really stuck out this time in the Psalm. Most of the time when I've heard or read this Psalm the words "Guides me", "Comfort me", "Fear no evil" are the words that really jump out at me. This time though it him me, God is with me. Through the darkness and through the light, through the rough waters and through the quiet waters.
It was nice to be by the water with my family and just feeling "my cup overflow."
Peace
-Ben
