Psalm 126
It is hard to believe that today is the last day in February! It seems like yesterday many of us were counting down the seconds until we would ring in the New Year. Many of us had high hopes of what the new year would bring. We got out healthy eating plan, exercise path, and other “get-right” tactics in gear. January 1, the gym was packed, smoothies were made, and plans were put into action. Now fast forward 2 months later, do you still have the outlook? Have you created new healthy habits, or have you completely fell off the band wagon? Whatever your answer may be, it’s ok, great things take time.
March is swiftly approaching us. I too like many are trying to reclaim my “march forward” attitude in a world filled of uncertainty and ambiguity. Let me be transparent for a moment, to paraphrase Langston Hughes, “life ain’t no crystal stair.” It is not all glam and glitter as many have portrayed on fakebook, only highlighting the “contoured” moments of life. To be honest, life at times is unconcealed, wrinkled, and in desperate need of a face-lift…LOL. Though these things are true, life is still a beautiful masterpiece crafted by the Master designer.
The “not-yets” of life are yet to unfold, but the beauty in all of it is the journey. The journey that beckons us to MARCH forward when we want to simply retreat back. The journey that invites us to revisit the pathways of light and love that we once let go of because of disappointment and daunting tasks.
If the Lord says the same, in 18 days I will celebrate another year of life. I will rejoice in the truth that though some dreams are unrealized and unattained I still have much to be grateful for. I feel like the Israelites in this passage who were captive in Babylon. Their harps had been hung up so long on the branches of willow trees, that when their joy was unexpectedly returned and restored they thought they were dreaming.
This is not a dream. You are fully awake. The release has come. You can pick up your harp and play again. Play stronger and bolder than before. MARCH forward in your work and your witness on this earth. With each step you take, may you stand taller, may your chin be made more erect, and may you know that your purpose is greater than your pain. MARCH forward, Beautiful Ones, this is your time.
Psalm 126:6Message TranslationSo those who went off with heavy hearts will come home laughing, with armloads of blessing.