Read: Psalm 61

From the ends of the earth I call to you, I call as my heart grows faint; lead me to the rock that is higher than I.
-Psalm 61:2

Shortly after I moved to Minnesota, I was flipping channels in the middle of the night and came upon a music channel and the refrain of a song kept playing over and over again.

Hear my prayer, O Lord
From the ends of the earth I cry
Your peace will lead me to
The rock that is higher than I

Unfortunately, I never caught who recorded it, and that bummed me out because I could not get the song out of my head. It was not until the end of my time there that I caught the song again on that late-night Christian music show. It was called “Hear My Prayer” and recorded by the Maranatha Singers. I ordered the CD off of Amazon (as this was in the days before iTunes), and the song has remained a favorite of mine for close to two decades.

I love this particular song (and the psalm from which it comes) because of the image of God as a rock that is higher than me, and which is therefore a safe place to be placed. This two year period marked the second time I was put on medication for depression and anxiety, and it was during this time that we found the magic dosage of my current medication that I have been on for almost two decades. It was a time where my former husband’s parishioners were mining my personal life and my web presence to try and to find any negative thing about me to use against me and against my former husband. It was a time when I needed peace, and it was the point I had to separate my faith from my former husband’s ministry because his churches were literally trying to hurt us. The image of God as my rock sustained me then, and it sustains me to this day.

Be our rock and a strong tower above our enemies, Lord. Give us your peace and surround us with your presence. Amen.
-Jen McCabe