A Psalm for Today

You etch all our yesterdays

and each tomorrow

in Your palm.

You meet us in the wild places,

And lay down small white stones,

waymarkers, signs of peace.

You build us shelter along the path, to

return to when our pilgrim hearts

grow weary from wandering.

You tell us we are not lost,

and You sing over us

as we come home to You.

          - Vicky Allen

Welcome back to the Rural Ministries weekly reflections. We’ve had a break from writing these for the summer but are now returning with some fresh thoughts and musings each week that will hopefully stir something in you as you journey through life, work and mission with God wherever you are. 

The beautiful words above were written by my dear friend Vicky Allen back in 2017 and were given to me as a present on my 39th birthday. Vicky now leads Discovery Church Dunbar, the community we planted when we moved to Scotland nine years ago.

I don’t know about you, but our family summer has been the usual chaotic yet life-giving, heady concoction of travel, adventure, festivals, school holidays, beach BBQ’s and too many late nights. All too often, task lists lay where we left them as we attempt to juggle the enticing pursuit of summer madness with the responsibilities of work, everyday adult life and the very real need to introvert into a quiet corner!

So now, we find ourselves at the transition into another season. Autumn in Scotland comes sooner than we’re used to, leaves are already beginning to change and there is talk about ordering the logs for the stove. Just ten minutes before writing this reflection, I traded in my summer barefoot habit and dug out my slippers from the cupboard. Sometimes, memories from our years in Cornwall surface in me, when locals revel in the glorious month of September, as that’s when the bulk of the tourists have left and there’s finally some space to breathe again, the ocean is still warm, and the evenings bask in the golden light of another Cornish sunset.

And the transition back to ‘normal’ life continues. Work rhythms are resumed, school and university begin their new terms, and order and balance are restored in our world…..maybe!

Where do you find yourself this week, this first week of September? Are you finding space to breathe, relax, reorient? Or perhaps you’ve had to hit the ground running, the work schedule has ramped up again and you’re already finding yourself in a whirlwind of tasks, demands and expectations? Or perhaps something different altogether. This week I had the pleasure of spending the morning with the truly awesome Derbyshire Rural Chaplaincy team, who spoke of the very different rhythms that are found within the farming community in the UK. They have a very different rhythm than most of us.

Whatever your answer is, I invite you pause for a moment, breathe, sit and let’s reread Vicky’s poem slowly. Ask the Holy Spirit to be your guide. Notice what surfaces in you as you read and pray, perhaps one line or theme illuminates on the page and seems particularly relevant. What is God saying through that? Journal what you hear from God and notice what your desired response is.

We are all living our lives in the palm of God hands, our yesterdays and tomorrows are firmly held and nurtured in His love with tenderness, grace and power. Let this truth sink into your soul today. How does that reframe how you approach living in the present moment, with the things you’re facing and the commitments and duties you have?

We often find ourselves in wild places, sometimes unknown or uncertain landscapes, having to step courageously into frontier spaces. Small white stones mark the way (it doesn’t escape me that the white stone in scripture is connected to restoration, identity and our true name). Where might you need guidance right now? How is the Good Shepherd forging a path and leading you? What might you need to do to continually hear His voice with clarity?

Perhaps you need shelter along the way. Are the storms presently raging just a little too fierce and refuge is required to regather some strength for the journey? Our pilgrim hearts do indeed grow weary from time to time. God is our strong tower, a refuge and a fortress, He is our ever-present help in times of distress and trouble. When we call on Him, we can be sure He will answer (Psalm 91).

Perhaps we are not lost at all. Not all who wander are lost (said a wise old wizard to some young, naïve hobbits, about a stranger on the road, crownless and yet worthy of becoming King). How might God be reframing our lostness, rewriting our story, helping us to see from His perspective? How might our lostness look different in the light of God’s presence, our own maturation and the pathway of growth and sanctification?

And then we come home to Him, welcomed with a ring and robe. Our Sacred Lord running towards us with open arms, rejoicing (Luke 15). He is mighty to save and we hear the exquisite melody of the Holy One singing over us with joy and acceptance (Zephaniah 3:17). We ALL need to be reminded of this from time to time.

Whatever season of life you find yourself in, whether is corresponds with the natural seasons or not, remember that the Voice who called you to begin with and then sent you out into the world, is also the Voice that meets you in wild places, who guides you along the way, who builds you shelter when you need it, and who sings over you ‘with gladness’ as you are ‘renewed in His love’, finding your way back home.

Grace and peace,

Jon Timms

Joint CEO, Rural Ministries