About two years ago I confessed my habit of analyzing my consistent, vivid dreams. Yesterday morning, my eyes abruptly darted open after a particularly painful one. No evil men seeking my life, no failed pregnancy, just shame. I proved inept and so suffered ridicule, not from strangers, but from my family. This dream will never become reality -- inept though I am, my family will never spurn me because of it. Nonetheless, this troubling dream unsettled me. I started to consider my ways. Do I practice enough? Am I making a fool of myself? Should I give up and start something else? What if my dream put into words all the things my family is thinking?

My soul was completely disquieted, so I turned to the Word, the Bread of Life, my sole Comforter.

Psalm 147:10-11

His delight is not in the strength of the horse,

nor His pleasure in the legs of a man,

but the LORD takes pleasure in those who fear Him,

in those who hope in His steadfast love.

The passage doesn't say that the Lord savors good musicians, or strong bodies, or stifled emotions, or even obedient children (not to say that He doesn't take pleasure in those people).

No, the passage says, "those who fear Him, in those who hope in His steadfast love."

Can we ask for any better? What a glorious God we serve!