No doubt, this particular psalm has some weighty theological stuff in it. The writer David worships an omniscient, omnipresent, omnipotent God. But a theology that is all "head" can be cold, dry, barren and really of little value. Yet a theology that is all "heart" may be warm, comforting, and practical, but can lack substance, not to mention give way to any theological fad that comes along. So that's why Psalm 139 is so wonderful. It's heavily theological as well as strongly personal. It's indeed a practical psalm embracing practical theology. And that was never more evident than come Sunday morning.
I had the delightful pleasure of having my great-aunt and her two daughters (my first cousins once removed) visiting from Jacksonville, Florida join me in class. With no fear of sitting smack dab up under the teacher, Lynn marched to the front row and placed herself directly in front of me. She even responded to some of my questions. I couldn't have been more thrilled. You see, Lynn is 55 years old and has Down's Syndrome. And what an encourager she is. Never do I see her that she doesn't tell me: "You are so pretty, Nancy." Really now, who wouldn't love someone like that?
But here's where the lesson came home. At the end of the class, I had those in attendance pray with me Psalm 139. And thus we began. "I give You thanks, O Lord, with all my heart; I will sing Your praise before the gods." Immediately I noticed that Lynn was reading and praying with the class, but her words were a half second behind everyone else's. Every sentence ended with Lynn's voice trailing just a moment behind. And then we got to a point in the Psalm that left me stunned and almost unable to continue leading the class in this benediction. There on the front row, my precious cousin was praying these words with as much passion and conviction, if not more, than those surrounding her. "You made all the delicate, inner parts of my body and knit me together in my mother's womb. Thank You for making me so wonderfully complex! Your workmanship is marvelous -- how well I know it. You watched me as I was being formed in utter seclusion, as I was woven together in the dark of the womb. You saw me before I was born. Every day of my life was recorded in Your book. Every moment was laid out before a single day has passed. How precious are Your thoughts about me, O God. They cannot be numbered..."
Upon completion, Lynn came up to me, hugged me tightly in her normal and delightful way, and said, "That was good, Nancy. You should be a pastor."
No, precious Lynn. You are the one who preached this morning.
Just an ordinary moment...
6 comments:
I am in complete tears - how precious.
You did do a great job Sunday morning. God continued to use what you shared into Sunday afternoon and night for our family. Can't wait to share with you.
love,
ka
Thanks for your wonderful lesson Sunday morning and especially your comments about Lynn. We are mailing a copy to Mary.
Oh, Nancy how beautiful.......made me cry.
God gave me this scripture when I was pregnant with my 2nd daughter. Yes, she was to be born with special needs but God pointed out very strongly in this Scripture that she WAS NOT a mistake. He made her with HIS OWN HANDS!! How comforting was that to me! No, she would not look perfect in the eyes of the world but she was exactly how God wanted her. The life verse I have for her is, "Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God."
Who are we to say that they are "disabled", "challenged", "retarded"etc., labels the world gives them. Do you ever think that we are the ones that are "challenged"! They don't worry about the silly things in life that we get caught up in: what others will think of them, money, acquiring more stuff, how they look, social status. All they want is to be loved and to love others. My child asks me EVERY DAY if we are going to church. She loves to go to God's house & worship him. I would say that she has the right focus!!!
Hi Nancy, I always pop in and out of your blogspot to see what you have written. I loved your July 7th posting. My own David, 19 yrs old now, is the biggest blessing in my whole life. And who knew, 19 yrs ago, when the doctor came in and told us that our new son had Down syndrome, that we would be so BLESSED???? But everyday, ordinary, boring things in life are more exciting when seen with and through
David's eyes. It's amazing! Bobby and I actually had a "discussion" once at the circus about who was going to get to sit next to David. It was so much more fun when seeing the circus thru his eyes.
Anyway, I am going to share your blog with my ATL friends.
Thought you might want to know!!
Love to you and everyone down there.
Wow! That touched me beyond words! You are precious to so many... especially to me! Thanks for reminding me that God made me just the way I am and that He loves me just the way I am! I love you, Nancy!
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