In our troubles,
you are our strength.

And in our sorrows,
our consolation.

(alleluia alleluia)

The Psalmist reminds us in this verse that the Maker – the Center – is both our go-to for the inspirational hutzpah we need to get through the day, and is also our consoler – our cheerleader – as-needed.

In 1855, Jospeh Scriven wrote a poem for his mother who was feeling down, because she was living in Scotland while he was away in Canada. The lines weren’t  full of preacherisms, or washing in the blood, or sin-cleaning. Instead he wrote a reminder that sometimes we carry too much with us. We hold on to “burdens” as the preachers say, rather than just turning them loose. We hold onto the sourness inside rather than just opening our hands and our hearts and letting that all float away over our heads into the Universe.

There’s no cure for troubles in that sentiment. What Scriven told us in his poem was that there is priority!

Many things in life are well outside our control. Many folks learn this hard the first time that hardship slaps them upside the head. Many more are born into it.

The trick is to learn which parts of my situation I can grab onto and create change for myself and those around me, and which parts I can simply turn over to the Maker, knowing full-well that the Center of all things can do far better with those troubles than I can myself.

Keep the faith!
- Amen

What A Friend We Have in Jesus
Words by Joseph M. Scriven (1855)
hymn tune: Erie, by Charles C. Converse (1868)