Day 25 Week 4 Day 4 Green Pastures

Today's reading (Bible in 1 year)

Genesis 36
Psalm 23
Isaiah 22:1-14
Matthew 17

Last evening, my wife, Sylvia, read a statement to me from a bishop in the Episcopalian church in New Hampshire.  He advised his Episcopal clergy to get their affairs and wills in order "because it may be that now is no longer the time for statements, but for us with our bodies to stand between the powers of this world and the most vulnerable".  Sometimes, peacemaking puts one in the place where death is a possibility in the protection of the most vulnerable.  It's an ominous thing to think about.

Today we read Psalm 23.  What a powerful Psalm to read in it's fullness but hopefully you just read it and I'll simply mention verse 4 where it says "Even though I walk through the valley of death, I fear no evil, for You are with me" Did you hear that?  You are with me!

On November 16, 2025 my mom passed away and went to be with Jesus, 2 days before her 98th birthday.  My mom had lived a very difficult life, due to much illness.  Since we were children, we regularly experienced times when mom was away from us in hospital typically for one surgery or another.

We knew she was soon going to leave us so Sylvia and I decided to make a trip to London Ontario to see her 3 weeks before her passing.  We knew that mom may or may not know us but it was worth it to see her one last time.  We arrived in her room mid morning and were incredibly blessed to find mom in a time of clarity.  It was a wonderful time and an incredible blessing.

During that time, we were able to take mom, for walks inside the building with her in a wheelchair, while we talked back and forth.  Mom seemed to know that her time was coming to the close and out of nowhere, she started repeating Psalm 23 from beginning to end.  We would sing a hymn with her and then she would again speak Psalm 23.  The image that sticks with me is the first part because it gave me an image of mom, in no pain, Lying down in a green pasture (without ticks), walking beside quiet waters and having her soul restored with Jesus.

In a time when one faces death, to know God loves you so much that He is preparing a place for you to dwell with Him forever is an incredible time to look forward to.

When I am in that spot, I will be confident that God is with me!

If you are not sure that God would be with you, I would be happy to help you.  Just email me and we can start a conversation about it.  My email is steve.d.pauls@gmail.com

Thanks for reading today
Steve

PS: if you skipped past the reading today and went straight to the blog, why not go back and read Psalm 23 and imagine the images of the Psalm as you read it. 

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