The LORD is my light

          and my salvation;

   whom shall I fear?

The LORD is the

          stronghold of my life;

   of whom shall I be afraid?

                Psalm 27. 1

(Years ago, one of our young daughters

woke up in the night.  I was at her side.

She said to me, "If I knew you were here,

         I would not have been afraid."

How differently would we

       navigate these waters,

       hike through the wilderness,

       face what is difficult

                 or unknown to us?

What if there was nothing

         to be afraid of?

What if I took God at His word,

         "Trust Me in this?"

in the crises

and even on the most common of days,

   which are never really ordinary.

God grants us His strength.

Fear just deflates all our tires.)

O LORD,

You are with us.

Help us to know that

    and trust You

in the details of our days,

even in the hard stuff

   when we have no idea

   what to do.

You have a stronghold

               on our lives.

May we never forget that.