Psalm 19:1/His Handywork

Me and Joshua at age fifteen, with the Grand Canyon as our backdrop


Good morning, dear readers,

King David says this about God and his creation:

The heavens declare the glory of God; and the firmament sheweth his handywork. 

The first few years after Joshua's death, I grasped onto the good that God has given to us. I hung on like a drowning woman with a raft in a wind-tossed sea. I was certain at any time, I would not wake the following morning, my heart ached so painfully.

I had a few pleasures that saw me through, like my husband, children, grandchildren, close friends, comfort foods, and God's handywork.

I have always enjoyed nature, but at that time, I craved to stand within the tall trees up on a high mountain. To feel the wind in my face as I gripped my husband's waist, while he drove our motorcycle. I longed for the distinct four seasons our area did not have. I needed my home state of Oregon to give me that joy.

My senses required they be fully engaged as much as possible. So when relatives needed me in Oregon to help out during the birth of their child, with glad heart I left for two weeks.

I marveled at the autumn season, in the state where I spent the second half of my childhood. The red, yellow, gold, and brown colors made me glad. I realized I had not been to my beloved Oregon in the middle of Fall, since I married my husband thirty-four years before. I drank in God's handywork like a nature-starved woman.

I could understand how the heavens declared the glory of God. I saw Him everywhere in His handywork. When the baby girl was born, I walked her when she grew colicky. She and I took autumn walks on the property and smelled all its scents. She calmed, and so did I. She felt eased from her physical pain, I from my emotional one.

God's handywork can aid in our healing, just one more of God's mercies I experience after my son's death by suicide.

What good things give you innocent pleasure in an otherwise harsh reality of loss? Enjoy those pleasures if even but for a moment and know this is one of many ways God reaches out to comfort us.

My prayer for us today:

Lord God, thank You for the beauty around us, Your handywork. In Jesus' holy name, I am grateful. Amen.