Aliens, Perimenopause, and Psalm 23
I was doom scrolling.
As one does. As one knows one shouldn’t do. But one does anyway, because some days we are winning at life, and others we are a glutton for punishment.
I noticed my usually light-hearted algorithm, which tends to be a combination of home renovations, the brave diatribes of perimenopausal women and the vibrant lives of cottage bakers, was one doom message after another.
Image by image, I was being shown all the ways the world was wanting to chew me up and spit me out. Ticks, El Nino, AI, Aliens, Perimenopause. That’s the short list.
I honestly thought to myself, “What the heck, Lord?” One spoonful of fear after another. And I don’t know if this is true for anyone else, but I find myself making a mental list of all the things I now need to do or stock to make sure I’m ready for when the aliens show up at my front door. I know this much: leave half full glasses of water all over the house. If you know, you know. Also, do this before the data centers suck all the water out of your city. You will need water for the aliens.
I’m only half joking. I’m mostly laughing nervously while my eyes tear up - you know how that goes.
The truth is - it’s sometimes hard to know what’s true out there. It’s hard to know how to respond to all that’s going on in the world. It’s hard not to want to wake up as a kid in the 80s again and know that all you have on the schedule that day was Saturday morning cartoons, soggy cereal, playing outside and the wonders of a truly analog life.
But that is not where I am in my story.
I am here.
But so is He.
I was at a Saturday morning Bible study with an incredible group of women. We’ve been rolling with each other for many months now, and they and Jesus are such a lifeline. There I was minding my business, talking about the real stuff with my girls, when a verse came to mind - it had nothing to do with what we were talking about, but it was God interrupting my thoughts to address where my heart had been that week.
....Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil. Psalm 23:4
I just began to sit with that verse all weekend. It was like He was saying, “Sara, even if you are covered by the shadow of death - at every turn, in every direction. I don’t want you to be afraid.”
I kept hearing that over and over again:
I don’t want you to be afraid.
I don’t want you to be afraid.
I don’t want you to be afraid.
Psalm 23 continues to reveal why I don’t have to fear: because He is with me.
The LORD is my shepherd; I shall not want. He makes me lie down in green pastures;
He leads me beside quiet waters. He restores my soul;
He guides me in the paths of righteousness for the sake of His name.
Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil,
for You are with me; Your rod and Your staff, they comfort me.
You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies.
You anoint my head with oil; my cup overflows.
Surely goodness and mercy will follow me all the days of my life,
and I will dwell in the house of the LORD forever.
I sat and considered this thought in the midst of the bad news downpour, and though my heart does not intend to sound callous, my question was truly: but what does it matter that You are with me?
With this question, my mind floods with His stories…
When He is with us, five stones in a river can take down a giant.
Three days and a brave request can save a nation.
The blind can see, the lame can walk, the mute can speak.
When He is with us, One could take the whale express to the most notorious place and watch Him love people who want nothing to do with Him.
When He is with us, water is a dance floor, and lunches can feed the multitudes.
When He is with us, we can stand in fire and sleep with lions.
When He is with us, nothing is impossible.
And yet…
This hope in the great works of God lives on the same page as the certainty of human suffering. (John 16:33, James 1:2, 1 Peter 4:12, 1 Peter 5:10) And this is a difficult dance. We don’t know the steps. We don’t know when He will lift our feet off the floor and send us soaring in ways we can’t imagine. We don’t know when we will feel the hardship right under our feet.
We only know who holds our hands through it all.
He is the God of the impossible. He is the God who knows the gravity of human suffering.
And He knows our lives are a canvas for both.
How do I feel comfort in this uncertain dance?
It’s the certainty that Love has me in His hands.
And He’s not letting go.
And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age. Matthew 28:20
Fear not, for I am with you; be not dismayed for I am your God; I will strengthen you, I will help you, I will uphold you with my righteous right hand. Isaiah 41:10
Be strong and courageous. Do not fear or be in dread of them, for it is the LORD your God who goes with you. He will not leave you or forsake you. Deuteronomy 31:6