August 8, 2022

My reflection is from Living Faith:
Praise the name of the Lord, for his name alone is exalted. Psalm 148:13
“Last fall, during months of painful rehab following my knee joint replacement, I routinely ran into the deacon at our church. He also happened to be a physical therapist and knew my healing was taking longer than expected. I was discouraged! Yet he would ask about my progress and, knowing his profession, I always told him my knee bend measurements. One Sunday when I told him ‘111 degrees,’ he replied with two observations: ‘That’s a milestone! I wonder what Psalm 111 might say?’ I wondered too and looked it up. The psalm’s first line stayed with me all week: ‘Praise the Lord! I will praise the Lord with all my heart.’ that week, I drove to my physical therapy praising God out loud. I began to praise God every day for the exercises, my therapist, my new knee and my renewed prayer-praising God even amid my distress. For every degree gained, I learned a new psalm. At measuring 112 degrees, I learned Psalm 112; for 113, Psalm 113 and so on. Lord made discouragement never stop me from praising you.” Pat Gohn