This morning I am listening to great music by Steven Curtis Chapman. His story and his music really have something to say in this day of trouble. Back in 2008, he and his family lost their daughter, Maria, who was eight years old. She was fatally injured when she accidentally ran into the path of a car driven by her 17-year-old brother Will. She died at the hospital. Two lives could have been lost at that moment. But that, thank God, did not happen. When Steven jumped into the car to go to the hospital, he rolled down his window and yelled at his son with as much strength and as loud as he could:

"WILL FRANKLIN, YOUR FATHER LOVES YOU!"

Will's Father loved him, no matter what. No beating him over the head with blame, no recriminations, no "What have you done?" kind of thing. He simply delivered the shortest, biggest, most powerful message he could give.

Your Father Loves You. That message from Steven kept his son from losing all his faith, a spiritual patch over Will's leaky heart. It saved one life even after losing the other. What powerful love coming from the boy's father.

Our Father in Heaven gave Steven the ability to do that for his son. He should know, He did the same thing himself, and his son was murdered, not killed by accident, yet he still loved the ones who did it, and so did the son,

"Father forgive them for they don't know what they are doing."

Our Father's love, we cannot live without it, and it is unconditional no matter what we do, and it is always there even if we selfishly reject it. God, and Jesus, His Son, are always there to love, lead, guide, and embrace us in the midst of life's troubles. He is our shepherd and our Lord.

Psalm 23

A psalm of David.

1 The Lord is my shepherd, I lack nothing.

2 He makes me lie down in green pastures,

he leads me beside quiet waters,

3 he refreshes my soul.

He guides me along the right paths

for his name’s sake.

4 Even though I walk

through the darkest valley,

I will fear no evil,

for you are with me;

your rod and your staff,

they comfort me.

5 You prepare a table before me

in the presence of my enemies.

You anoint my head with oil;

my cup overflows.

6 Surely your goodness and love will follow me

all the days of my life,

and I will dwell in the house of the Lord

forever.