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.