Steadfast.

"We ponder your steadfast love, O God, in the midst of your temple. Your name, O God, like your praise, reaches to the ends of the earth." (Psalm 48:9-10)

An article on Apple News this morning said this ONE THING will help improve your night's sleep - even if other things haven't worked... MEDITATION. In Christianese, we'd call it prayer. It can also be guided contemplative prayer. Whatever you call it, taking time to pause... to reflect deeply... and then connect your spirit to The Holy is a worthwhile endeavor. (Especially before bed, evidently!)

In Psalm 48, the author mentions that s/he will "ponder your steadfast love, O God." Which caused me to pause... and ponder. There's LOVE... we've all experienced that at one time or another (hopefully more often than not!). All kinds of love: familial, romantic, friendship, etc. We've also all discovered a lot of love is conditional. It depends on what we do (or don't do)... or the emotional place the "other" is in... or what's happening in the world around us... etc. Some of it is also tied directly to our proximity. Research has shown that we tend to love those people we are around most often (which is why workplace affairs are unfortunately so common).

But God's love is different. It's "steadfast."

Unmoving. Unchanging. Consistent. Dependable. Unshaking. Ever-present.

In short... UNCONDITIONAL and FOREVER.

Wow! We can spend lots of time reflecting or meditating or praying on that reality. What a blessing! What a gift! What a promise!