1 “If it had not been the LORD who was on our side,
Let Israel now say
2 “If it had not been the LORD who was on our side,
When men rose up against us,
3 Then they would have swallowed us alive,
When their wrath was kindled against us;
4 Then the waters would have overwhelmed us,
The stream would have gone over our soul;
5 Then the swollen waters
Would have gone over our soul.

6 Blessed be the LORD,
Who has not given us as prey to their teeth.
7 Our soul has escaped as a bird from the snare of the fowlers;
The snare is broken, and we have escaped.
8 Our help is in the name of the LORD,
Who made heaven and earth.
--Psalm 124

It's Sunday afternoon and I'm on call at the hospital. I have many things floating around in my head. First and foremost, I wonder about the theology of being overwhelmed. This experience has been about being overwhelmed. There is just too much. Too much driving, too much laundry, too much hospital food, too much suffering and pain. I am overcome with it all -- it is overpowering. I know that this is just a sign of the tiredness-- the exhaustion that come from long hours, little rest, the long drive and so very much to do at home. But.

I wonder if being overwhelmed by all this prepares me in a very concrete way for an overwhelming by God, We depend so much on our own understanding -- we depend on our intellect and science, but what has intellect and science to do with coping with pain and suffering? The Psalmist here is overwhelmed by the wild and raging waters -- and swollen waters threatened to swallow him whole -- and yet God gave escape. His soul flew as a bird.

This morning I was overwhelmed by the welcome I was given by the children and families in this hospital. They were open and gracious to me -- and I was blessed by them. I was overwhelmed by their generous and loving spirits. It was a beautiful thing to see.

Peace, y'all.

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