A reflection on Psalm 42

by Isabella Parra, student writer

“As a deer pants for flowing streams, so pants my soul for you, O God.” — Psalm 42:1

A dew droplet rolled off a waxen leaf, disturbing the pool of water. It rippled until the gray clouds were visible once more on its surface. The lilypads supported millions of crystal dew drops upon its leaves and pink flowers. Beneath the water’s still surface, bright fish darted between the plant roots, nibbling at the mossy floor. 

The smell of rain lingered like the aroma of rising bread. The air hung with the weightiness of a velvet curtain draped calmly against the edge of a majestic room. Cattails bowed under the mist. Even though the sound of birds and crickets and cicadas hummed, the heaviness of the air dampened the sounds, so that they appeared like a distant noise far, far away. Goosebumps appeared along the trunks of the trees and they shivered. Tiny water droplets dripped into the pool below.

Twigs broke underneath the hoofed paws of the deer as it stepped through the bowing cattails. Its paws sunk into the damp earth. It moved with the grace of a ballerina, and the familiarity of a seasoned navigator, heading home. It mimicked the cattails and bowed its head toward the water’s surface. Its antlers, mighty weapons, crowned the herbivore's head. Dark black eyes, darker than the night sky, peered into the surface to see the roots of the plants under it. It stayed there for a long time. Panting for the life breathing water.

And as it drank, an odd thing occurred.

The weighty mist cleared, like a lens coming into focus. Foggy clouds covered its surface, but as time passed and the mist cleared, blue skies peeked through the gray. A gust of wind raced through the trees, pulling all of their droplets away. The soft sounds of the water falling tickled the ear drums. The breeze picked up the dew droplets on lilypads and flung them like skipping stones into the water. The cattails bounced up, the heaviness leaving their delicate bodies.

The air grew light, like a fluffy piece of cotton candy, effortless and sweet. The scent of peonies and roses and ferns and honeydew wafted through the air, brushing away the refreshing smell of rain. Now cicadas burst through with heavenly melodies dueting with the birds and crickets.

All at once the sun burst through the cloud cover, reflecting off the water and making the deer shine with its radiance. The deer pulled back and watched the sunlight ripple on the floor of the pool. It reflected against the stones and the undersides of the tree branches, creating a halo of glory within. The cicadas hummed louder, singing with all of their might in the warmth. The deer turned, stepping with its wiry but balanced legs. Its tail twitched, and it took one last look at the pool. It bowed its majestic head, as if in thanks, and with all the splendor of a king, steadily returned to the trees, disappearing within the cattails.