Context: Today I’m stressed, which is unusual for me. This is because tomorrow I am going on holiday for the first time in years. Old and tired, with chronic health issues and limited mobility, this is a huge undertaking for me, and I don’t know how I’m going to cope.
Taking two days for the journey, I will be travelling to visit my son and his family in Ely (UK). This trip is also a personal pilgrimage for me to Ely cathedral, perhaps for the last time. Additionally, if possible, I would like to visit Norwich, to see St. Julian’s hermitage. However, that will depend on how well I am, and is probably over-ambitious.
This holiday is a huge challenge for me, both physically and mentally, so all I can do is to commit myself to God’s loving care.
NB: Today’s picture is a photograph of my favourite icon, which hangs in my bedroom, opposite my bed. Having stored it on my iPad, this icon will be going on the trip with me.
I love you, Lord (Psalm 18:1; NIV).
He loves us with unfailing love (Psalm 117:2; NLT).
1. I love you, Lord,
And you love me:
There’s nothing else I need.
2. You are my light,
My way, my staff,
My comfort, and my creed.
3. You are my truth,
My fire, my Book,
My strength, Lord, without cease.
4. You are my faith,
My hope, my life:
My everlasting peace.
The Lord is peace (Judges 6:24; NLT).
References
1. God is love (1 John 4:8; NLT).
The LORD is my shepherd; I have all that I need (Psalm 23:1; NLT).
2. God is light (1 John 1:5; NLT).
Jesus told him, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one can come to the Father except through me” (John 15:6; NLT).
Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for thou art with me; thy rod and thy staff they comfort me (Psalm 23:4; KJV).
Jesus is ‘the stone rejected by the builders which has become the cornerstone.’ There is no salvation in anyone else, for there is no other name under heaven given to the human race by which we must be saved (Acts 4:11-12; TIV).
3. The Spirit is truth (1 John 5:6; NKJV).
God is a consuming fire (Deuteronomy 4:24; NIV).
You saw me before I was born. Every day of my life was recorded in your book. Every moment was laid out before a single day had passed (Psalm 139:16; NLT).
Search the book of the LORD, and see what he will do (Isaiah 34:16; NLT).
The Lord Jehovah is everlasting strength (Isaiah 26:4; KJV).
4. Three things will last forever – faith, hope, and love – and the greatest of these is love (1 Corinthians 13:13; NLT).