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I was simply sitting down to blow dry my wet hair and then in my mind's eye, I am there... nearly 20 years ago, but I am "seeing" it and feeling it, like it was yesterday.
While in this season of launching my first child, there seems to be this movement in my mind... seemingly random memories coming like a wave.
Different things trigger the memories---a picture, a smell, a song, a comment. This morning it was music. As I often do, I hit play on my "Worship" playlist. I sat to begin a regular morning routine of makeup and hair. Within only a few notes, the memory came rushing in...
link for song... take a listen, if you can
The song begins with ..."It is our confession what we are weak... so very weak!"
In a moment, I was taken back... holding, rocking, clutching a baby girl. We had taken this little one with us across the ocean into a backwater country. Young and terrified, I stood over her crib, holding her tiny body while her fever screamed at my momma's heart, "Be afraid, be very afraid!"
It is an intense fear that we feel as we hold our little ones and watch them writhe and struggle against sickness. It is a deeply intense fear that we all feel when we are out of control... when we can't fix it, we can't make it okay.
That night long ago, it was this song that I sung over her. As I held her and prayed, the words seemed to flow out of my soul---a song, a prayer, a confession---
"It is my confession, Lord, that I am weak---so very weak---but, You are strong!"
It's our confession, Lord that we
are weak…So very weak, but You are strong
And though we've nothing, Lord…To
lay at Your feet
We come to Your feet and say,
"Help us along"
A broken heart and a contrite
spirit, You have yet to deny
Your heart of mercy beats with love's
strong current.
Let the river flow, God. By Your Spirit now, Lord we cry
Let your mercies fall from heaven!
Sweet mercies flow from heaven!
New mercies for today--Shower
them down Lord, as we pray
How long did I rock her and sing this song over her that night? It feels like I have been singing and rocking this over her for her entire life!
Today, as I writhe and struggle with the feelings of launching her. As I watch her sadness, her pain, and as I feel my own... As we truly roller-coaster-ride the ups and downs of this launch: ...excitement, hope, anticipation, mixed with the high fever of grief, frustration and terror...
As her tears, and mine, scream at us, "Be afraid, be very afraid!", I am in that selfsame place I was 18 years ago.
As her tears, and mine, scream at us, "Be afraid, be very afraid!", I am in that selfsame place I was 18 years ago.
I am holding her, rocking her with my heart, and I am praying these very same words...
Help us along! New mercies for today, Lord, shower them down as we pray!
And, each time I sing this. Each time I pray... He holds and He rocks. He stills. In these moments, I know He sings over my soul. Even when I can't hear it, I know He is singing... He is always singing His song.
Today, I choose to listen and lean in. I let Him hold me and rock me. Today, I say "yes" and hear His words--- Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged, for the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go (Joshua 1:9)