a restored soul

Annie Dillard once wrote: "You do not have to sit outside in the dark.  If, however, you want to see the stars, you will find that darkness is necessary.  But the stars neither require nor demand it."

Which reminds me of the words I pray every Sunday from Psalm 23: "The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want.  He makes me lie down in green pastures.  He leads me beside still waters.  He restores my soul."  It's as if God is saying: "You don't have to lie down in green pastures and sit beside still waters.  If, however, you want to have your soul restored, you will find that they are necessary."  

That's probably why he "makes us" lie down and "leads us" beside, because he knows that we typically won't do those things by ourselves.  We're too busy responding to demands and expectations, getting things done, and making things happen.  I mean, who has time to "lie down" or "sit beside," right?

The problem is that if we don't make time and space to do those two things, our souls will dry up and die, which is why we need to have our souls "restored" in the first place.  The word for soul, in the Hebrew, comes from one of the words for breath.  Which means that the soul is that place where God breathes his life-giving breath into us.  If we don't make time and space for God to breathe his divine breath into us, we have nothing of value or substance to breathe out upon the world around us.  We can't live in a constant exhale; we must learn how to inhale.  God wants to restore his divine breath in us.  

Which brings us back to "making us lie down in green pastures" and "leading us beside still waters."  Those two practices are a major part of soul restoration.  So, take a few minutes today and follow the Good Shepherd to those green fields and those still waters.  You won't regret it.  In fact, it will give you life and joy and love and peace.  It will restore your soul.