Quiet Waters

Black River in eastern Arizona.

1 The Lord is my shepherd, I lack nothing.
2 He makes me lie down in green pastures,
he leads me beside quiet waters,
3 he refreshes my soul.
He guides me along the right paths
for his name’s sake.
4 Even though I walk
through the darkest valley,
I will fear no evil,
for you are with me;
your rod and your staff,
they comfort me.

Psalms 23 is probably the second most quoted scripture in the Bible, next to John 3:16.  Denzel Washington quotes this scripture in the movie Book of Eli (one of my favorite movies by the way!).  The portion of the psalm that many people know is in verse four; the valley of the shadow of death part.  Above is the NIV version which reads a little differently.

For me, the comforting part of Psalms 23 is verses 2 and 3.  I recall when my oldest daughter and I were training for a 60-mile, 5-day backpacking trip along the Mogollon Rim in central Arizona.  We would take shorter, 10-20 mile overnight training hikes to help prepare us for the big one.

On one of those training hikes, we were backpacking near an area called Blue Ridge, not far from the gas station and small post office known as Clint's Well.  At one point in the trip, we descended close to 1000 feet into the Clear Creek Valley. At the bottom, we took off our boots and soaked our tired feet in the creek.  Of course, the mountain water of the creek was quite cold and after about ten minutes our feet were approaching numb.  We walked across the creek barefoot, needing to cross the stream anyway, dried our wet feet with dirty laundry from our packs and continued up the path.

I guess it all depends how one defines "quiet".  Yes, the water gurgled down the creek bed, occasionally crashing against a rock.  In that sense, perhaps the waters of Clear Creek were not quiet.  If one defines "quiet" as being at peace, then Clear Creek went well beyond quiet.  When Eileen and I were sitting in Clear Creek, we embraced this peace.  The only sound to be heard was the wind rushing down the valley, an occasional raptor screaming at something beneath where he circled overhead, and the creek itself.  I was very fortunate that my daughter, who was only twelve years old at the time, respected this peace.

Every time I go hiking, at least by myself, I try to dedicate time to just sit. Perhaps my feet are dangled into a cold stream or maybe I am just leaning against a rock.  Listening to the water flow or the wind finding its way through the tree branches above brings me peace.

I find myself in a position now-a-days where I need to find some quiet waters.  I think every now and then we need reminding that the rat race is not what God intended.  Stroking egos and picking lint is not what God intended.  These are human priorities that have been thrust upon us.  God intended for us to be at peace.  And while we can find God (and His peace that surpasses understanding) anywhere, I find it best beside the quiet waters.