Like a Mother and a Father

Read Psalm 23

Upon you I have leaned from my birth; it was you who took me from my mother's womb. My praise is continually of you. Psalm 71:6 (NRSV)

Flora Sagadevan lives in Sri Lanka. Their family is large. She is the youngest of six siblings - three girls and three boys. Flora lost both her mother and her father when she was very young, and her elder brothers and sisters raised her. Following her mother's death from cancer, Flora felt utterly alone. She often cried, thinking, Why should i live? Jesus take me. I have no one to love me the way she did. But Flora has taken comfort in Psalm 23. Her mother often recited these verses when she held her hand and went on walks with her or when Flora accompanied her to the hospital.

Now Flora is a grown woman with her own family, a career, and an independent life. Psalm 23, the passage her mother taught her when she was young, still comforts her; it gives her hope when she faces sickness, sadness. or other challenges. As she recites that psalm from memory, joy and peace prevail in her. Flora has learned to look to God when she needs her mother's love and also when she needs her father's love. Flora knows that God loves her and cares for her. God can comfort her like a mother and like a father.

Prayer: Loving God, thank you for comforting your children. Thank you for your continuous guidance and favor, in Jesus' name. Amen.