Be gracious to me, O Lord, for I am languishing;
    heal me, O Lord, for my bones are troubled.

Psalm 6:2

It will be healing to your flesh
    and refreshment to your bones.

Proverbs 3:8

And the Lord will guide you continually
    and satisfy your desire in scorched places
    and make your bones strong;
and you shall be like a watered garden,
    like a spring of water,
    whose waters do not fail.

Isaiah 58:11

I can officially say this morning that Rebekah’s troubled bones (Psalm 6) are now seeing refreshment (Proverbs 3), and they are well on the way to being made strong (Isaiah 58). That’s right, our third visit to the orthopedic specialist revealed significant progress in healing, and offered the opportunity to say “goodbye” to her Stormtrooper boots and wheelchair.

The regimen is, now, an orthopedic brace for her right ankle, extreme care while moving around, more rest, and a doctor’s order for six weeks of physical therapy.

Kindness beyond “Random Acts”:

Obviously, the scripture references here are cherry-picked to fit today’s encouraging news. It’s always fun to search through the Bible and find stories and texts that fit with everyday life. But I do try, as a rule, to read Bible passages in their context and to keep a big-picture perspective rather than just diving in for the pearls and nuggets I want.

Psalm 58 is a great example. If you have time, go back and read the entire chapter. Essentially, the promise of verse 11 is set in the context of the nation moving beyond hypocrisy and actually doing justice, loving mercy, and walking humbly with God; it’s an expanded version of the classic Micah 6:8 idea.

I love the image of being “like a watered garden” – talk about finding refreshment! So often we want healing, we want refreshment, we want our desires satisfied… but we fail to apply our energy and our imagination to faithfulness, to justice, and to mercy.

Rebekah and I had been talking about this over brunch, and how maybe we should start a “National Kindness Movement.” Beyond “random” acts of kindness, how about the practice – the discipline – of kindness as ubiquitous?

What if we all spent the next few days and maybe weeks intentionally and deliberately being courteous, and warm, and kind, and caring to absolutely everyone we came into contact with? What if we were especially kind to people we disagree with, or don’t like?

The theological word for this is “mercy.” I believe it is worth further exploration.

Enough with the meanness, the cruelty, the spite, the lies, the bullying – enough with all this fuel that keeps our current disaffection smoldering and poised to erupt.

We need healing for more than our bones, and we need refreshment for our spirits too.

In His mercy and by His grace – DEREK