Beside Still Waters

The path I walked today was gentle and kind. It followed the meandering route of the Deschutes River in Thurston County, and it presented no serious elevation changes or rough terrain. I should mention, too, that the weather was sunny and warm. In this week that is now coming to a close, I have walked with people whose life journey bears some resemblance to this. It's not that things are perfect for them. It's just that they are at a good place in their pilgrimage and the struggles they face seem small in comparison to others. If truth be told, I count myself among them. But I have also journeyed with people in this past week whose path is rocky and steep. In one case, it led to the operating room of a local hospital. In another, it led to a lonely curbside where a man got out of his car and sat down to weep. On that day, it was rainy and cold. A few of us who saw him stopped to sit on the curb with him and to offer companionship. It's what I will do again tomorrow when I gather with people at the graveside of a man brought down by cancer. His family has requested that I read Psalm 23. From what I understand, it is one that had given him great comfort and peace in the last days of his journey. So now I am thinking about the way in which a steep, rocky path can be joined with a gentle, kind one that leads beside still waters and restores the soul. Both are very real, but the mystery to consider is how the second one takes us on a journey within- to a place where we can say that our cup is running over, even when the outer terrain is rough and the circumstances are cold and harsh.