Psalm 3: A psalm of David, regarding the time David fled from him son Absalom

You think your family is screwed up? Spend some time reading about David and his family! It reads like an HBO original!

Within the pages of 2 Samuel chapters 13-19 you get everything that would make my church-going, God-fearing, blue-haired grandmother's toes curl! The story starts with the rape of a half-sister. It involves conspiracy and deception, political intrigue and an attempted coup! There's a section on manscaping the ideal man and hair care grooming tips (Absalom was perfect from head to foot with 5 lbs of hair!). The story offers arson, spies, sexual exhibitionism, a dramatic escape and an epic battle where 20,000 men lose their lives. This story has everything a sleazy television executive could want.

But let's be honest. Sometimes, it's hard to relate to a story like this. Few of us have a story to tell about our own family that is quite so dramatic. The worst family drama I've ever encountered was when my cousin announced that I was on her S**T list because I offended. All I did was ask her to climb out of my grandmother's deathbed. Seemed a harmless request at the time.

Yet, some of us deal with family drama all the time. Some face ongoing arguments, betrayal, back-biting and stabbing and extreme disappointment. If we're being truthful with one another (and I think we've developed the kind of relationship that can handle the truth), we might have to confess that we have caused a few of our own theatrical moments and added to the family dysfunction. Few of us are as innocent as we wish we were or pretend to be.

This is why I love the Psalms. The writer of Psalm 3 understood that drama happens. Whether it is in our family, in our schools, at our jobs, or worse yet (and just as likely) in our churches, the dramatic events of life find a way into our worlds.

The last line of Psalm 3 is really the bottom line, especially when we are living in the midst of the chaos: (speaking to God), "May you bless your people."

Isn't that really what we can hope and pray for more than anything else...no matter what is happening all around us, the blessing of God is what we need to bring assurance and peace.

AMEN.