Praise the Lord! Sing to the Lord a new song, his praise in the assembly of the faithful. Psalm 149:1
As I approached the final block of my neighborhood before turning right onto my street, I noticed some unusual activity at the edge of my yard. Slowing down and straining my eyes to see in the dusk, I realized that my neighbor had pulled his pickup truck onto the grass and was standing in the truck bed with his two young daughters. They were eagerly reaching into the overgrowth hanging there by the creek. I lowered my window, applied my brake, and yelled across the street as my neighbor dismounted his truck.
“What are you finding?”
Striding toward my open window with a happy smile, his answer surprised me. That’s interesting, I thought. I’ve lived here nearly six years and never noticed his find. Now that he pointed it out, I realized I’ve looked right at this hundreds of times and just never paid attention. Not only that, but this wasn’t the only spot. My yard is bursting with this surprise find.
When he continued his answer, I moved from surprised to shocked. “Your husband showed me and said we could get some.”
What did he mean my husband showed him? My husband never mentioned this to me! How long has he known? He should have said something especially since he would know I would be interested.
“I’d be happy to get some for you,” my neighbor offered. No, thank you. I have fifteen pounds of these in my refrigerator right now that I went somewhere else to get.
As I slowly pulled away, I turned to my son beside me. “Wonder why Dad didn’t say something?” Turns out, he just noticed yesterday and simply hadn’t mentioned it to me yet.
Six years… and neither of us knew. Six years… passing by countless times every single day… and never seeing. Six years… I’d missed the amazing gift right in my own yard. Precious, tasty, glorious muscadine grapes free for the picking.
Praise the Lord! the psalmist writes. Sing to the Lord a new song. While most of the psalms incorporate a trouble, a lament or a plea, the final five psalms are simply about praise and singing – and not just any singing. Psalm 149 pushes me to sing to God a NEW song. This calls me to recognize everything around me and find newness each day. Freshness which moves me to singing, praising and thanksgiving.
The psalmist doesn’t stop there. Sing God’s praise in the assembly of the faithful. Yes, singing praise to God all by myself is lovely, but how much richer and marvelous when God’s people join their voices together for no other reason than to sing praise?!
I wonder how many gifts, how many occasions to be amazed, how many opportunities to sing praise to God I have squandered because I’ve been too busy focusing on other things. I’ll bet if I pay attention, my life will provide all kinds of tasty treats worthy of praise. I hope we will do that singing together.
Singing new songs,
Pastor Beth
As I approached the final block of my neighborhood before turning right onto my street, I noticed some unusual activity at the edge of my yard. Slowing down and straining my eyes to see in the dusk, I realized that my neighbor had pulled his pickup truck onto the grass and was standing in the truck bed with his two young daughters. They were eagerly reaching into the overgrowth hanging there by the creek. I lowered my window, applied my brake, and yelled across the street as my neighbor dismounted his truck.
“What are you finding?”
Striding toward my open window with a happy smile, his answer surprised me. That’s interesting, I thought. I’ve lived here nearly six years and never noticed his find. Now that he pointed it out, I realized I’ve looked right at this hundreds of times and just never paid attention. Not only that, but this wasn’t the only spot. My yard is bursting with this surprise find.
When he continued his answer, I moved from surprised to shocked. “Your husband showed me and said we could get some.”
What did he mean my husband showed him? My husband never mentioned this to me! How long has he known? He should have said something especially since he would know I would be interested.
“I’d be happy to get some for you,” my neighbor offered. No, thank you. I have fifteen pounds of these in my refrigerator right now that I went somewhere else to get.
As I slowly pulled away, I turned to my son beside me. “Wonder why Dad didn’t say something?” Turns out, he just noticed yesterday and simply hadn’t mentioned it to me yet.
Six years… and neither of us knew. Six years… passing by countless times every single day… and never seeing. Six years… I’d missed the amazing gift right in my own yard. Precious, tasty, glorious muscadine grapes free for the picking.
Praise the Lord! the psalmist writes. Sing to the Lord a new song. While most of the psalms incorporate a trouble, a lament or a plea, the final five psalms are simply about praise and singing – and not just any singing. Psalm 149 pushes me to sing to God a NEW song. This calls me to recognize everything around me and find newness each day. Freshness which moves me to singing, praising and thanksgiving.
The psalmist doesn’t stop there. Sing God’s praise in the assembly of the faithful. Yes, singing praise to God all by myself is lovely, but how much richer and marvelous when God’s people join their voices together for no other reason than to sing praise?!
I wonder how many gifts, how many occasions to be amazed, how many opportunities to sing praise to God I have squandered because I’ve been too busy focusing on other things. I’ll bet if I pay attention, my life will provide all kinds of tasty treats worthy of praise. I hope we will do that singing together.
Singing new songs,
Pastor Beth