Downside Up Thinking

Life unfolded outside the bay window in Patty’s kitchen alcove. The Johnson twins ran down the street to the crosswalk. Bill Winchester got in his VW camper and drove down Elm Street toward town. Old Mrs. Carpenter toddled out, picked up her newspaper, and toddled back inside her home. Different day, same routine.

Patty’s morning pattern repeated itself as well. Bathe her husband Joe’s mom while he got ready for the day. Work as a team to help her get dressed and into a wheelchair. Kiss Joe good-bye and share breakfast with the sweet lady her children had dubbed MeeMaw. It was a good life.

“How do you like the oatmeal?” Patty scraped the last bite from her own bowl, savoring the cinnamon aroma along with the taste of blueberries and melted butter.

The older woman swallowed her mouthful and sipped apple juice from the tiny glass. “It’s lovely, dear. Thank you for adding a different flavor each day. It keeps my tongue paying attention to what’s headed its way.” She dabbed her mouth with a paper napkin. “I’m looking forward to today’s psalm. I think it’s going to be a good one.”

“Now, MeeMaw.” Patty raised an eyebrow and shook a playful finger at her. “You say that every day.”

It was easier to push the dirty dishes out of the way and clear them later. Patty pulled the Bible across the antique pedestal table and opened it at the blue crocheted bookmark. “Are you ready? We’re in the middle of Psalm 146.”

“Yes, I remember the first verses were filled with directions about praising the LORD. What’s next?” Her dancing eyes and bright smile were contagious.

Patty glanced down the page. “Let’s see if we can cover from verse five to verse ten. Are you game?”

“Well, of course.” Her fingers slid together as her elbows rested on the chair’s arms. “Just because I have trouble seeing that small print doesn’t mean I can’t follow the words.”

The twitter of the birds outside the window seemed to pause as Patty read.

“Blessed is he whose help is the God of Jacob,
whose hope is in the LORD his God,
the Maker of heaven and earth,
the sea, and everything in them –
the LORD, who remains faithful forever.
He upholds the cause of the oppressed and gives food to the hungry.
The LORD sets prisoners free, the LORD gives sight to the blind,
The LORD lifts up those who are bowed down
The LORD watches over the alien and sustains the fatherless and the widow,
But he frustrates the ways of the wicked.
The LORD reigns forever, your God, O Zion for all generations.
Praise the LORD.”*

MeeMaw‘s hands went up. “Oh my, did you hear all those verbs in there?”

A grin tugged at the corners of Patty’s mouth. She morphed the effort into a quizzical look. “What do you mean?”

“There’s a whole string of action words. They report all kinds of things the LORD is doing every day—being faithful, giving food to hungry folks, setting prisoners free, and all the rest. And in the end it says the Lord is the King forever.” She waved circles in the air. “It gets me excited.”

Patty bit back a giggle. “How so?”

A good-natured huff. “Don’t you see? Since God is doing all these things all the time and will be forever, it must mean that He’s got His heart and mind pretty much set right on us … right on you and me and Joe and the kids.” She pulled herself up straight and stared in to Patty’s face. “Did you ever think of that?”

“No. I never thought of that before.”A reflective calm settled over Patty. “I guess I’m usually concentrating the other way around—to make sure I’ve got my heart and mind set on God.”

“Well, it makes me think of that hymn And Can It Be. When I sing it again I’m going to change a word in the chorus.” She broke out in a joyful noise. “Amazing love! How can it be that thou, my God, shouldst live for me?”

Patty joined in with enthusiasm. The duet rang out, “Amazing love! How can it be that thou, my God, shouldst live for me?”

Have you considered how intently God sets His love on you?
A simple Yes or No in the Comments will do.

Thank you and God bless,
Sandra

Join the choir in singing this traditional hymn, but make MeeMaw’s change at the end of the chorus. “Amazing love! How can it be that thou, my God, shouldst live for me?”

*Psalm 146:5-10 NIV1984