Great Is Thy Faithfulness

At church yesterday we had a hymn sing, so the songs we sang were some of the great old hymns, accompanied by the organ (and other instruments) which I LOVE. One of the hymns we sang was a favorite of mine, Great Is Thy Faithfulness. I love this hymn for the power of the promises in the lyrics, the truth of God's faithfulness. I love it because it reminds me of my Gramps who loved it as well. And I love it because I have personally experienced the greatness of God's faithfulness even in the midst of difficult circumstances, like my Dad's unexpected death or "lesser events" like a scary health diagnosis for a family member, an "unexpected" and voluntary exit from a beloved job, the daily blessings.

Every time I sing this hymn I get choked up as I reflect on God's faithfulness to His people in Scripture and in my own life. And yesterday was no exception. I had a recent personal experience with God's faithful protection as Saturday I was too slow to stop a bad fall for Soren that resulted in a good hard knock on the head. Head bumps scare me, especially after real-life "examples" of the seriousness of head injuries, like Natasha Richardson. The fact that someone can seem fine and have a life-ending injury is scary.

Head bumps are also a fact of life in toddlerhood, or so I hear and hope or I'm just a horrible parent. So they happen and they are scary. But Soren was okay after his and I was thankful. And then, singing that hymn yesterday, I was overcome with thankfulness that God has been faithful to protect Soren each time he's fallen in his two years and that in His wisdom He designed baby and toddler heads and bodies in such a way that they can absorb the impact of these falls so much better than adult bodies. My little boy is a gift that has been given to me for a period of time that only God knows. God knows each day, each fall, each hair on that boy's head and He is faithful to protect Him in each of those falls, for every single day that Soren is given. He does the same for me, for Erich and now Mattias, my other gift.

All I can do is hold on to the Truth, for great IS Thy faithfulness God.

Snuggle

I spent a couple days in bed last week. I was more sick than I had been in a LOOOONG time (read: elementary school). The first morning I was sick, I got up briefly in the morning and Soren wanted me to do Play-doh with him, but I felt so bad I explained to him that I needed to go back to bed. He told me he wanted to come with me, which I begrudgingly accepted. Soren doesn't rest when he comes in our bed. He climbs all over, plays, looks out the window; I wasn't feeling up to that.

But this time was different, he told me he wanted to get under the covers with me, so I lifted them up and invited him under. He talked about how cozy it was. And then came the best part: he said, "Snuggle." My heart leaped! I had longed to snuggle with my busy, wiggly boy. Despite my sickly-ness, I drew him close (being careful not to breathe on him). I rested my chin on his head and enjoyed as he reached up his toddler hand to caress my face, rub my arm and nestle closer under the covers. I made a point to fully enjoy those few moments.

Later (and because I'm writing this several days after the fact I don't remember what sparked the connection) it dawned on me that God longs to hear that same desire from me! God is a personal God who wants a relationship with His children. I know in my head that God is not just a wish-granter or a chess master moving pawns or a disinterested "Power". But sometimes it takes moments of flash insight to really understand in my heart and being that I am at times like a busy, wiggly toddler always going, trying to check off my To Do list, even spending time with God, but He and I need moments of quiet rest where I just snuggle in close to His heart. God created me to enjoy Him, to enjoy being with Him, just looking at Him, learning and remembering Who He is and how much He loves me, how He wants to spend time with me, too.

Because just as I loved those brief, precious, still moments snuggling with Soren, God loves to snuggle with me, too. Lucky me!

Soar, Not Plod

I am studying Isaiah in Bible Study Fellowship this year. It has been so good for me to have regular time to read Scripture and think through what it says and what that means for my life. Sometimes however, I focus more on getting the questions answered for our group discussion than on what God wants me to do or how to apply these things to my own daily life. But two weeks ago (yes, it's taken me that long to find time to write these thoughts) there were some incredibly insightful comments shared during our discussion that included Isaiah 40:31:
"...but those who hope in the LORD
will renew their strength.
They will soar on wings like eagles;
they will run and not grow weary,
they will walk and not be faint."

One woman mentioned how she had been praying this to be true in her own life and it struck me -- "Of course!" I should be praying this passage of Scripture for myself (and Erich) as we are weary from day to day activities and caring for a newborn who doesn't sleep in the evening. I couldn't believe I hadn't thought of it myself as I read through that familiar passage. But I began applying that insight to my life and I would lift up a brief prayer when I was tired or weary or impatient with my children or the never-ending, oft-repeated chores of the household. And I prayed the Scripture, inserting my name in place of "they" in the last three lines. This was the power of those prayers: as I began to accept the truth of them, that God will uphold me, refresh me and energize me when I come to Him.

These verses and that prayer became even more refreshing and powerful as I reflected on another insight shared by a woman who said, "I want to soar, not plod!" Oh, how true that is for all of us! And how easy it is to plod, instead of soar. The imagery here is so majestic -- to soar like the eagles! It makes me think of lofty heights to be attained, great things to be accomplished, inspiring goals to be reached. God will uphold us as we seek to do that. But that one comment also changed my whole attitude about my day to day. I'm not attaining great heights of business deals, an inspiring sermon to preach, a cure for a disease, the next big ad campaign. But even as I unload the day's clean dishes, sort or fold laundry, change ANOTHER diaper, muster the energy for ANOTHER round of hide and seek -- even in these mundane things God will enable me to SOAR, not plod. Instead of trudging through my day, I am able now to see it in the majestic terms of the eagle. It doesn't have to be drudgery just because one day seems to roll unchanging into the next. And when it feels that way, God will renew my strength and keep me from growing faint when I wait and hope in Him and ask for his never-ending strength.

And it is THAT power, THAT hope, which helps me to SOAR!