May the road rise up to meet you.
May the wind be always at your back.
May the sun shine warm upon your face
And the rains fall soft upon your fields.
And, until we meet again,
May God hold you in the hollow of His hand.
This made me remember a blessing that the Pastor of a previous church used to say at the end of each service.
May the Lord bless you and protect you.May the Lord smile on you and be gracious to you.
May the Lord show you his favor
and give you His peace.
~Numbers 6:24-26 NLT
I heard this so many times that I know I started to not hear it (you know what I mean). But now as I read it again and think about the words, it was a nice thing to be said over the congregation each week. It was a way to remind us that God is with us and wants to bless us.
I went on-line to see what I could find out about this blessing or blessings in general. Here's what I found in the commentary on Biblegateway.com.
The priests were solemnly to bless the people in the name of the Lord. To be under the almighty protection of God our Saviour; to enjoy his favour as the smile of a loving Father, or as the cheering beams of the sun; while he mercifully forgives our sins, supplies our wants, consoles the heart, and prepares us by his grace for eternal glory; these things form the substance of this blessing, and the sum total of all blessings.
I just love this picture of God and the purpose of blessings. I love the part of the description above that says 'enjoying his favor as the cheering beams of the sun.' That's describes my personal connection with God and the sun. That's the meaning behind the name of my blog. That's why I love the John Denver song, Sunshine On My Shoulders. I can feel God's face smiling upon me as the sun warms me and brightens the day.
May His face shine on you today.
Heather @ Not A DIY Life hosts More of HIM. I encourage you to visit all the participants or contribute your own post.
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link of the day:
http://holidays.kaboose.com/saint-patricks-day/
6 comments:
Great post. The balloonist say a similar prayer (or toast) upon landing as the Irish one. I'd quote it here if Mickey was awake and could tell me, but since it's 3:45 a.m. he is fast asleep. As you can see, I am not!!!
Susan
I love that Irish blessing. It was set to music (I'm sure it has been many times over!) and we sang a version of it in high school choir. I memorize things much easier if set to music.
Love your comment on my post - God isn't a vending machine. I'm going to use that in Bible study this week.
Thanks for sharing!
It's funny how you can hear something over and over week after week until you don't really hear it anymore. It's a great message when we actually stop and take the time to listen.
I love both of those blessings and would really like to hear Susan's prayer - pehaps Mickey will wake soon! ;)
My daughter married a Messianic Jew and going to their synagogue (sp?) is really nice. I love when they do the family blessings. They go under the talit of the husband, or if not married or husband is not there/has died, they can choose to gather under the community covering and they do a blessing.
I love seeing my daughter praying with her husband, their union blessed and their hearts joined this way.
I loved this! I especially loved the commentary - and I got a huge grin when I read the 'beams of sun' because I thought how perfect for you and your blog!!
Thanks for a cheery start to my week! Happy St Patty's Day!
Beautiful.
Hope your St. Patrick's Day was wonderful.
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