The Mirage

“Earth’s crammed with heaven, And every common bush afire with God: But only he who sees takes off his shoes. The rest sit around it and pluck blackberries.” – Elizabeth Barrett Browning

Exhausted from another long day of many lately, I glanced at Psalm 23 that’s posted on my refrigerator next to an array of favorite photos and quotes. The dichotomy of “through the valley of the shadow of death” and “my cup runneth over” hit me.

Worn and weary, we see the shadows more than the overflowing cup. Parched in the desert, our cup is empty. That’s the mirage. Our cup is overflowing when we lie down in green pastures and beside still waters near our oasis of blessings with a renewed gratitude. My cup runneth over. The mirage is the desert.