I was first introduced to Psalm 16.6 by my friend Joyce back in the 1970s.  It just rolled off her lips one day – “the lines of my life have surely fallen in pleasant places,” she remarked one lovely summer afternoon.  It had a nice ring to it then and has grown in meaning over the years.

For a long time I reserved its use for those special periods when everything was going well and peace reigned.  Like the day almost every March when the snows have melted, the NCAA basketball tournament is underway, the smell in the air tells me the next six months are going to bring longer days and warmer weather, and the cars’ gas tanks are full. Or we have the day before Thanksgiving off, providing four straight Saturdays in a row.  Or it’s the first day of spring break, you have arrived at your destination, and a great, relaxing holiday awaits.  The physical pleasure that always comes to mind when I hear this verse is the huge swing ride tucked into the back of the Cedar Point Amusement park – it spins around fast enough to generate a sense of gentle weightless flight with no risk of jolting roller coaster direction changes.

The verse has developed a broader scope as I more fully realize the impact of Romans 8.28 – God is working all things together for my good and my salvation.  Not just the high points and joys but the setbacks and annoyances are part of my life.

• I am very thankful for a wife and children who know the LORD. We can do family Bible studies and laugh together regularly even though daily living events can cause stress.
• I am overwhelmed that God’s great plan includes the Bible, prayer, forgiveness, and a Savior.
• I am blessed to be in a solid church family that is growing in maturity as disciple-making disciples of Jesus despite pastoral, legal and denominational issues.
• I have been providentially provided with well-paying work I enjoy even though some days are too busy or frustrating.

I am mobile enough to play Ultimate Frisbee (in the summer) not because I am highly skilled but because I know where to stand on the field. And I can proclaim that the lines of my life have fallen in pleasant places because I know Him in whom I stand.