My parents live about 20 miles inland of the Mississippi Gulf Coast, but even so, water was always accessible to play in and sit by, and was super easy to get to. The beach wasn't too far away, and while it wasn't Jamaica, it was a beach. And then, of course, there were rivers and creeks galore. I was baptized by my Southern Baptist uncle in the creek near my home, and a friend's mom dubbed our senior class "river rats" because of our penchant for hanging out there.
But as much energy and inner and outer turbulence as crashing waves can cause, there is truly nothing quite like still waters. The calmness, peacefulness, and general sound of softly lapping waves bring a feeling that nothing else can quite measure up to.
The more into life I delve, and the more birthdays I have, the more I realize that (much like the "fires" we talk about putting out so often in our work environments) we experience more of the turbulence and hurricanes and watery messes to get ourselves out of than we do the peaceful, easy feelings.
I mean, yes, I'm an anxious person by nature, but good grief. Everyone talks about hectic days, and wasn't it like 20 years ago that the song "Manic Monday" came out? So now, with email and smart phones and life at the speed of 4G light, I'm afraid Manic Mondays have become the norm for everyday...even our weekends.
That said, Psalm 23 has been comforting to this anxiety-ridden redhead lately. God promises to lead us beside still waters. And although the Psalms were written way back when, He doesn't even limit that promise to David's shepherd days (which I'm pretty sure aren't as calm as I envision them, with giants and such).
Lately, I just can't help but have my confidence be reassured that God, when inspiring David to pen the Psalms, did know that one day my own memories of "still waters" would go quite mad, thanks to Hurricane Katrina. And that water would become scary versus soothing for a while for me, and for my entire hometown and the entire Gulf Coast. And that one day, our quest for efficiency combined with our ignorance about safety and neglection to protect His creation might one day come back to bite us -- in this case, with a very nasty oil spill leading to, well, oil spill waters rather than the still waters we so long for.
So Psalm 23 has been very comforting to me, and has gently reminded me that no matter what my environment is, God can take me to a still, calm surrounding that only He can create. And that He can restore my soul, even in the presence of those who could care less about me, and who want to see me fail.
And really, that is the best kind of still water ever.
wonderful muse Arr Jay, I love that name by the way, and like you, I love the thought and the sight of "still waters". Your post brings back lots of great memories both of the good times and some hard times of growing up on the Mississippi Gulf Coast with its sometimes difficult weather patterns and the hardships they can bring to its residents. However, there is no doubt, I would not trade my childhood tenure in the woolmarket community, or my affiliation with woolmarket Baptist Church and woolmarket elementary school for all of the money in the world. If I remember correctly you were baptized at a very young age in the Tuxachanie (sp) creek near your home on Carr Bridge Road, in the Bethel/Success community near Saucier, MS. in the days prior to the paving of Carr Bridge Road, I might add. Some how my memory has failed of the actual baptism, but if your Momma has any pictures and I am sure she does of that event, I would treasure a posting of them to refresh the experience for me. Thanks for the refreshing reminder of some of my favorite words, "still waters", "David", "south Mississippi", "Psalm 23", "baptism" and one of my all time favorite words, "restore". It is amazing the mental pictures that words like these and others can create in our minds, especially on a tiring midweek evening at the close of a tiring day. But oh the bliss and pleasure of those mental pictures and the precious memories they bring back! Perhaps tonights dreams will hold for me the pleasure of a remembrance and recounting of your baptism experience in the ancient creek beneath the landmark bridge. I love you Rebekah Johnson! God bless, Uncle Mike
ReplyDeletewonderful muse Arr Jay, I love that name by the way, and like you, I love the thought and the sight of "still waters". Your post brings back lots of great memories both of the good times and some hard times of growing up on the Mississippi Gulf Coast with its sometimes difficult weather patterns and the hardships they can bring to its residents. However, there is no doubt, I would not trade my childhood tenure in the woolmarket community, or my affiliation with woolmarket Baptist Church and woolmarket elementary school for all of the money in the world. If I remember correctly you were baptized at a very young age in the Tuxachanie (sp) creek near your home on Carr Bridge Road, in the Bethel/Success community near Saucier, MS. in the days prior to the paving of Carr Bridge Road, I might add. Some how my memory has failed of the actual baptism, but if your Momma has any pictures and I am sure she does of that event, I would treasure a posting of them to refresh the experience for me. Thanks for the refreshing reminder of some of my favorite words, "still waters", "David", "south Mississippi", "Psalm 23", "baptism" and one of my all time favorite words, "restore". It is amazing the mental pictures that words like these and others can create in our minds, especially on a tiring midweek evening at the close of a tiring day. But oh the bliss and pleasure of those mental pictures and the precious memories they bring back! Perhaps tonights dreams will hold for me the pleasure of a remembrance and recounting of your baptism experience in the ancient creek beneath the landmark bridge. I love you Rebekah Johnson! God bless, Uncle Mike
ReplyDeleteIt is funny I went to school for a short time at Woolmarket Elementary too. It was just 5th and 6th grade, but woohoo, I was there. ;) I love what you said here, and I can certainly relate to all the Mississippi Gulf Coast musings about being near the water and the storms; both in the weather and metaphorically. I love this and I love you friend.
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