Land of the Free

"Trust in the LORD and do good; dwell in the land and enjoy safe pastures." Psalm 37:3.

When I was a teenager I read The Pilgrim's Progress. I cannot remember if this book was required reading or whether I had chosen to read this book. Unfortunately, I cannot recite individual teachings of what this book taught me but I did retain the overall lesson of what this book supported. This was the spiritual walk of a Christian at every turn as he traveled to the ultimate land - Heaven. What I do remember is that he came "in and out" of different lands, some being rough terrain and other lands being beautiful and spacious.

I now understand that we are each living out our own "Pilgrim's Progress" as we journey in and out of lands, some known and some foreign. As I have stated before, three years ago my father-in-law was diagnosed with Alzheimers and suffers daily requiring a great deal of support from me and my husband. His wife is 82 and has her own health concerns so their lives have become enmeshed with ours. The above verse is a monumental command from God, one that we do not have to work hard at interpreting. If we trust whatever God brings to us, and respond faithfully and lovingly for the good of the other person, He will always bring us into our "good land". Love always works for the benefit of the other person - this is how Christ operated on earth and this is how we should be imitators. Lands of need will come in and out of our lives and we must trust God and "do good". Our response to the needs of others may be their safe pastures that God has promised them through their trust.

The second part of this verse is where this weary pilgrim has settled for now. Through prayer God has brought the need of a young woman who was seeking a job as a companion and satisfied our need for some assistance at this stage of his disease. It has brought me into a land of safe pasture, a land of freedom, a land of rest. This pilgrim will enjoy her time of reprieve and be thankful for the pastures for where she resides for now. I know that at the proper time he will have me throw my backpack on my back, slip on my hiking boots and journey to another land but I will trust my Guide. He knows where the next good pasture is hiding!