Devotions Archive Archive: 1999 | 2000 | 2001 | 2002 | 2003 | 2004 | 2005 | 2006 | 2007 | 2008 | 2009 | 2010 | 2011 | 2012 | 2013 | 2014 | 2015 | 2016 | 2017 | 2018 | 2019 | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 | 2024 Search Archive Print This Article Quiet waters Thursday, February 7, 2008 Psalm 1:1-3 Blessed is the man who does not walk in the counsel of the wicked or stand in the way of sinners or sit in the seat of mockers. But his delight is in the law of the Lord, and on his law he meditates day and night. He is like a tree planted by streams of water, which yields its fruit in season and whose leaf does not wither. Whatever he does prospers. I crave quiet. Is that an age thing? My life has been adrenalized since I was a reporter for my hometown daily in high school forty years ago. Maybe it's time for me to slow down. Several years ago I memorized parts of the Bible. Psalm 1 was one of those parts, and it became one of my favorite psalms. I made up a 3x5 index card, and when I was driving I clipped the card to my dashboard and spent an hour or so each day repeating the verses. When I cross a stream on a country bridge, or even better have a few minutes to hike alongside it, I usually remember this psalm. The words seem to have taken root inside me. I really do begin to feel like a "tree planted by streams of water." In Open Mind, Open Heart, Thomas Keating writes, "You have to keep up a certain level of silence in the psyche and nervous system if you want to obtain the benefits of contemplative prayer." Let stillness come. Thy will be done. On earth. Let me listen like a stream listens, Lord. Always going only where you take me. "; Add      Edit    Delete