Shout
with joy to the Lord, all the earth! Worship the Lord with gladness. Come before him, singing with joy. Acknowledge that the Lord is God! He made us, and we are his. We are his people, the sheep of his pasture. Enter his gates with thanksgiving; go
into his courts with praise. Give thanks
to him and praise his name. For the Lord is good.
His unfailing love continues forever, and his faithfulness continues to
each generation. Psalm 100:1-5
I read a sad story about a very
accomplished woman who committed suicide last week. The story was punctuated with remarks by her
grieving father. Dr. Lorna Breen, 49,
died a hero, said her father, Philip Breen. "She was in the trenches," he said.
"She was a hero."[1]
As the head of emergency services
Dr. Breen had certainly seen the results of more tragedy than most of us can
imagine. After contracting the COVID-19
virus she was in a weakened physical condition, and, according to the report,
emotionally exhausted, perhaps contributing to her decision to end her
life. The story is so sad considering
how much Dr. Breen had to offer with her training and the position of
caregiving she occupied. It is a life
ended far short of the depth it promised.
Her dad called her a hero who went down into the trenches of the coronavirus war, and the enemy
killed her.
Never having met Dr. Breen, and
only reading the story this morning, I would be foolish to analyze anything
about her death. However, having known
several people who eventually chose the same closing story to their life’s
chapter, I only observe that many times such choices are precipitated by a loss
of perspective on the goodness of God’s gift of life. Despair’s hopelessness is overwhelming for
some!
Despite, at times, the horribile
circumstances of chance, such as the current pandemic and its associated grim
outlook, just breathing in and out, holding the hand of a loved one, or
watching a baby sleep can bring exhaustion’s bleak outlook back into a proper
focus. This is what the Psalmist was
telling us; serve God with gladness and joy, and remember that He is good. The simple act of praising God for His
goodness and mercy is a two-fold necessity to life. In order of priority:
1.
Praising God is fitting; it is the rightful response of
creation to Creator
2.
Praising God is fulfilling; when we do that which is part of
our hard-wired calling, the sense of “rightness” is like a string of dominoes falling
in line, one after another. We do the
fitting thing, and the fulfillment of joy, peace, and gladness naturally flood
back into perspective.
For those who choose to end life,
those they leave behind face grieving a loss that will never completely allow
rest. For the parents, family and
friends of Dr. Breen’s, and the host of people she helped, and those she might
have helped, we offer our heartfelt condolences and prayers for comfort.
For You Today
Let’s let the Psalmist voice our
last, and hopefully strongest words today:
You
chew on that as you hit the Rocky Road today!
For another post on Psalm 100 see Flat
Tire Worship
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