Psalm 86

Incline Your ear, O LORD, and answer me;
For I am afflicted and needy.

Preserve my soul, for I am a godly man;
O You my God, save Your servant who trusts in You.

Be gracious to me, O Lord,
For to you I cry all day long.

Make glad the soul of Your servant,
For to You, O Lord, I lift up my soul.

For You, Lord, are good, and ready to forgive,
And abundant in lovingkindness to all who call upon You.

Give ear, O LORD, to my prayer;
And give heed to the voice of my supplications!

In the day of my trouble I shall call upon You,
For You will answer me.

There is no one like You among the gods, O Lord,
Nor are there any works like Yours.

All nations whom You have made shall come and worship before You, O Lord,
and they shall glorify Your name.

For You are great and do wondrous deeds;
You alone are God.

Teach me Your way, O LORD;
I will walk in Your truth;
Unite my heart to fear Your name.

I will give thanks to You, O Lord my God, with all my heart,
And will glorify Your name forever.

For Your lovingkindness toward me is great,
And You have delivered my soul from the depths of Sheol.

O God, arrogant men have risen up against me,
And a band of violent men have sought my life,
And they have not set You before them.

But You, O Lord, are a God merciful and gracious,
Slow to anger and abundant in lovingkindness and truth.

Turn to me, and be gracious to me;
Oh grant Your strength to Your servant,
And save the son of Your handmaid.

Show me a sign for good,
That those who hate me may see it and be ashamed,
Because You, O LORD, have helped me and comforted me.



...God, may this prayer ring true over my life despite the many ways that I have failed you. Thank you for being slow to anger and abundant in lovingkindness.

The waterworks

...and just like that, it hit suddenly.

I was showering after taking out some aggression on the poor treadmill, and the waterworks started and they simply kept on going.

Despair, hopelessness, loss, and even a desire that it all be over with...it came pouring out, rushing out at a rate faster than the 2.75 gpm of water toppling over my head. Three waves of this quiet but violent expression and then a calm numbness.

God where are you?

or more likely, where am I that I can't hear God?

I feel so lost in this journey...the unbeaten path that I so glamorize out of that Robert Frost poem. I guess he never said it would be easy, or that there wouldn't be times where you're so tired of traveling that you just want to turn around and go back or just give up.

God, I can't do this by myself. I need you to be my compass...to help me find my way again.