Wednesday, April 18, 2007

A Blessing

One of my favorite Bible verses is the blessing which the priests gave to the Israelites long ago...
"The LORD bless you and keep you;
the LORD make his face shine upon you and be gracious to you;
the LORD turn his face toward you and give you peace
." (from Numbers 6:24-26)

My interpretion of this passage would sound something like this...
May the LORD take care of you and hold you in His loving arms
May you see the LORD smile and feel His loving kindness
May God turn His face towards you so that you feel at peace.

In a few weeks we will be blessing our graduates. I constantly struggle with how to bless people. It is a foreign concept to our culture. And yet, I know how sweet it is to hear a blessing from a loved one.
I hope I can continue to learn how to bless others. What to say, how to say it.

May God Almighty bless you today
Feel His presence as He walks beside you
Know He loves you as you look at the sky
May the LORD keep you and your loved ones wrapped in His protective arms
May He give you abundant joy and contentment
As you rest in His presence.

1 comment:

Judy said...

You are right. Blessing people is foreign to us. But it was done so much in the Old Testament; especially, Fathers blessed their children. Since I have a Graduate this year, I would like to be able to express a blessing to her.
With my grandchildren, giving them a "blessing" would be a memory I'd like them to have from their grandmother.