All of us have people in our lives that
have influenced us or made a lasting impression on us in some way. Because of their faith in us or love they’ve
shown to us, we consider such people our heroes. We look up to them. We admire the example they set for us. We want to be like them.
One of my heroes is Father Tim. I’ve never met him in person. In fact, he doesn’t exist – except in the
pages of the Mitford series of books by author Jan Karon.
Father Tim is the pastor of the
Lord’s Chapel in the fictional town of Mitford, North Carolina. Each of the Mitford books follows the life of
the humble and devoted pastor as he cares for the people of his little
community. I appreciate the fact that
Father Tim knows what people need the most – the Word of God. And he uses the Psalms very effectively in
his ministry.
For example, as Father Tim sought to
minister to a young man who had been abandoned by his mother, he prayed Psalm
32:8b: I will instruct you and teach you
in the way you should go; I will counsel you and watch over you.
When searching for encouragement, Father
Tim remembered Psalm 68:19: Praise be to
the Lord, to God our Savior, who daily bears our burdens.
To the individual near death, the first
verse of Psalm 27 was Father Tim’s prayer:The
Lord is my light and my salvation – whom shall I fear? The Lord is the stronghold of my life – of
whom shall I be afraid.
