All That is Within Me

Buzzards Bay behind the T family Beach House
Sunday 6 September 2010

As I sit here in the great room of the beach house, on a chilly September morning, Labor Day, in the Cape Cod area of MA, I am looking out onto Buzzards Bay and see the bright early sun shining on the water which is so smooth it looks like glass.  I am the only one awake.  There are the 4 of us, plus 3 other guests:  our dear T-----relatives from PA and one great-aunt (my daughters' great-great-aunt!!) from Florida.  It is nice to be up with out any one else to distract me from my morning devotions.  Coffee is perking and I can't help but think of the Psalm that talks about forgetting none of God's benefits, as I look out at the glittering water. 

It is from Psalm 103.  Here are the particular verses I am meditating on:

"Bless the Lord, O my soul, and forget not all His benefits:  Who forgives all your iniquities, Who heals all your diseases, Who redeems your life from destruction, Who crowns you with lovingkindness and tender mercies, Who satisfies your mouth with good things, so that your youth is renewed like the eagle's....The Lord is merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and abounding in mercy.....for as the heavens are high above the earth, so great is His mercy toward those who fear Him; so far as the east is from the west, so far has He removed our transgressions from us.....bless the Lord, all His works, in all places of His dominion.  Bless the Lord, oh my soul!"   Psalm 103: 1-5, 8, 11&12, 22

I cannot believe a whole year has passed since I last sat in this particular spot, with everyone else sleeping....and, as I've sat here I've seen so many "pictures" flash before my eyes.  Moments with my family, moments at work, moments at church, with neighbors, friends, people who are gone from my life yet with whom I still feel a connection and still care about very deeply....and I ponder the mysterious ways of the Lord.  I marvel at how vast His universe is, and how deep and wide the oceans are.  I marvel at all the blessings He bestows on us and some of them we may not even think of as blessings.

And I give Him this upcoming school year.  A new year begins tomorrow.  And I will say "good-bye" to the beach house once again and the next time I return there will be a new season, with different people in the house.......and we will reflect on the moments we have shared....and offer thanks to God.  It will be cooler, 2 months of school will have passed, and my small group will be in the midst of the book we are studying.  I am hoping certain situations will have been resolved and restored.....and I am trusting that all the things we face in the next few weeks will go smoothly and in His will.
But for now....I sit sipping hot coffee on a chilly late summer day and I say "bless the Lord, Oh my soul and all that is within me!"  He has done marvelous things....the 2 greatest of course is that he gave His Life for us so that we can live eternally, and He offers forgiveness to us over and over again....Grace and Mercy.  Salvation and Forgiveness.  How thankful I am for Christian extended family and for opportunities to witness to the family members who don't know Him personally!  How very blessed we are......and how great and mighty is our God!


Bless the Lord, oh my soul.....with all that is within me!