Week 29: Even the Swallow

Week 29: Even the Swallow

Today’s Text: Psalm 84-86

Key Text: Psalm 84:3-4

“Even the swallow has found a home, and the swallow a nest for herself, where she may have her young – a place near your altar, O LORD Almighty, my King and my God. Blessed are those who dwell in your house, they are ever praising you.”

We all need a place of rest, a place to recover, a place to be renewed.

People find it in many different locations.

Some find a place of real rest and recovery; others sadly find something less – a counterfeit – a place that might promise rest and renewal but really can’t in the long run.

The Psalmist understood, however, that the greatest place of rest was with God in God’s holy temple.

Even the smallest, most fragile of creatures, can rest easily there.

So, if you are tired, overwhelmed, in need of a truly safe place, somewhere where you can be renewed body, mind, and soul – why not find it with God?

Blessed are those who dwell in your house…

It’s an open invitation, to all who will accept.

Come. Rest.

Be still and know God is God.

Let that be enough.

By Paul Simrell

The Reverend Paul W. Simrell has served for over thirty years in a variety of congregational and institutional settings. He is a recognized minister with standing in the Virginia region of the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) in the United States and Canada and is nationally endorsed by the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) for specialized ministry in both pastoral counseling and chaplaincy. Ordained in 1982, he has served congregations in Kentucky, Texas, Florida, and Virginia. He currently serves as the pastor of Elpis Christian Church, a small, historic congregation located just a few miles west of Richmond, Virginia. Elpis is the Greek word meaning “expectant hope.” He also serves on the associate clinical staff of the Virginia Institute of Pastoral Care, Richmond, Virginia, both as a pastoral counselor and a ministerial assessment specialist, specializing in executive, clergy and relationship coaching. He is a graduate of the University of Florida and Lexington Theological Seminary and has done advanced clinical training in chaplaincy and pastoral counseling at the University of Kentucky Medical Center in Lexington, Kentucky, Children’s Medical Center and Parkland Hospital in Dallas, Texas and the Virginia Institute of Pastoral Care in Richmond, Virginia. He is a Certified Pastoral Counselor, an ACPE Practitioner, and a member of the American Association of Christian Counselors. He is a Certified Facilitator of the Prepare-Enrich relationship assessment and skills-building program and served as a volunteer chaplain for over twenty years with the CJW Medical Center campuses in Richmond, Virginia. His avocational interests include playing the piano and drawing. He is very happily married to his wife Elizabeth Yeamans Simrell, a free-lance writer, who is also a Certified Facilitator for the Prepare-Enrich program. Good company in a journey makes the way seem shorter. — Izaak Walton

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