We have taken the road through the psalms of Ascent, and now we reach the end.

But it’s never really the end, is it? Because there are always places that call to us, that put our feet back on the road.

Even if where we go next is a familiar place, the road and the ascent has changed us. We aren’t really going back to who and where we were – we are walking into the wonder of a time and place that we see more clearly for having left.

Every place we call home is a temporary dwelling place; our time is limited and we move on.

But before we set out again, let’s dwell in the place that is the reason for our journey: the house of the Lord.

Come, bless the Lord, all you servants of the Lord, who stand by night in the house of the Lord!

Lift up your hands to the holy place, and bless the Lord.

May the Lord, maker of heaven and earth, bless you from Zion.

Psalm 134, NRSV, A Song of Ascents

Bless the Lord for all the challenges we face on our journeys – they teach us patience and give us strength.

Bless the Lord for the everything-is-falling-into-place times: we see the beauty around us more easily for them.

Bless the Lord for the work we have been given to do – we appreciate rest more because of it, and we have the chance to honor creation through it.

Bless the Lord for the journey. Bless the Lord for journey’s end. Bless the Lord. Make us a blessing. Bless.