Discovering True Intimacy with Our Savior

Music Monday: Blessings

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“Me and 2012 are gonna fight” was my Facebook status in early January.  So, I guess it shouldn’t surprise me that the first quarter of 2012 has been a rough one.  Even my friends find themselves in the midst of some struggles and irritations.

I hate to wish the year away, but I find myself doing it almost on a daily basis.  Case in point:  I thought it would be fun to have an Adios 1st Quarter 2012 party.

My friends did too.

But regardless of how much I want to fight with 2012, the fact of the matter is that God has blessings in store for me through the fits and frustrations.  And that fact is what brings me to our Music Monday for today.

Blessings

By Laura Story

We pray for blessings, we pray for peace
Comfort for family, protection while we sleep
We pray for healing, for prosperity
We pray for Your mighty hand to ease our suffering

All the while You hear each spoken need
Yet Love us way too much to give us lesser things
‘Cause what if Your blessings come through raindrops
What if Your healing comes through tears?
What if a thousand sleepless nights
Are what it takes to know You’re near?

What if trials of this life
Are Your mercies in disguise?

We pray for wisdom, Your voice to hear
We cry in anger when we cannot feel You near
We doubt Your goodness, we doubt Your love
As if every promise from Your Word is not enough

And all the while You hear each desperate plea
And long that we’d have faith to believe

‘Cause what if Your blessings come through raindrops
What if Your healing comes through tears?
And what if a thousand sleepless nights
Are what it takes to know You’re near?
And what if trails of this life
Are Your mercies in disguise?

When friends betray us, when darkness seems to win
We know that pain reminds this heart
That this is not, this is not our home
It’s not our home
‘Cause what if Your blessings come through raindrops

What if Your healing comes through tears?
And what if a thousand sleepless nights
Are what it takes to know You’re near?

What if my greatest disappointments
Or the aching of this life
Is the revealing of a greater thirst
This world can’t satisfy?

And what if the trials of this life
The rain, the storms, the hardest nights
Are Your mercies in disguise?

To Your Left

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I was lying in the hospital bed during the wee hours of the morning in a morphine induced haze. The TV filled the room with a surreal, pale-blue hue which flickered as the picture changed.

After spending 6 hours in the ER, I was grateful for my new – and much more comfortable – bed, but my lower back ached. I wanted desperately to sleep on my side. However, turning to the left would tug at the IV line, and turning to the right caused the IV machine to protest with a series of beeps. So, I ended up in some crazy half-flat, half-right tilt. It was no wonder I couldn’t sleep!

I felt my lower back relax a bit as I listened to the oddly soothing sounds of the IV machine.

“I am here with you,” said a voice deep in my soul.
“Where?” I whispered.
“To your left,” I heard Him say.

I slowly turned my head and shifted my gaze to the left hoping to see the image of my Savior beside me, but my eyes only found a large window with the blinds tightly drawn. I sighed and drifted off to sleep.

My mom stirred as the sunlight filtered in through the shades. I opened my eyes to see her standing by the window with a cup of coffee cradled in her hand.

She reached out and opened the blinds that had blocked my vision the night before. And to my surprise, there – just outside the window on my left – was a cross.

“I am here with you” came the words.
“Where?” I whispered.
“To your left,” I heard Him say.

And indeed, He was.

“So do not fear, for I am with you; do not be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you; I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.” – Isaiah 41:10

Hi

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Wow! So, I’ve been out awhile.

And…well…this is awkward.

Please forgive me for my absence. I have a really, really good excuse.

I wish I could say that I’ve been busy hammering out a new bible study or something that might be equally impressive. However, I have been at home recuperating from some unexpected surgery.

Things are all good now. The recovery process just took painfully longer than I expected. To be honest, the whole experience has been rather traumatizing on many levels and has left me somewhat speechless. (Who ever thought I’d say those words? Not me.)

While I’ve had a couple of crushing disappointments and some frightening realizations over the past three weeks, I have also experienced tremendous blessings that shined light on how awesome God is and how He takes care of us: moment by moment; step by step.

I won’t go into all those things now, but I do hope that as I process them, you will allow me to share some with you. For now, I simply wanted to reach out, say “HI” and remind you that God loves you and takes care of you in ways you never know or can comprehend.

So do not worry, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them. (Matthew 6:31-32)