Being Understood

I don’t think I have ever felt so understood in my whole life! Of course, there are plenty of things I don’t understand. Nevertheless, right now, I feel like there are some very special people who have given me the wonderful gift of believing enough in me to listen and patience to understand me. First of all my wife, my sister and two good friends.  I can’t express my appreciation enough!

Telling Myself Good News

In our reading through Galatians, we were asked to say to ourselves the “gospel” that Paul is reminding the Galatians of. Here is what I told myself from Galatians 1:3,4:

“Grace and Peace! Grace which is a blessing to your spirit and Peace . . . soul peace. Grace that comes through Jesus, who gave himself willingly for you. Grace! Jesus gave himself willingly for you . . . to buy you! To buy you back! To rescue you from darkness, to save you from being condemned, from being condemned before the Father, from being condemned before those whom you hurt, from being guilty before the one who would devour your soul.

This grace that brings you peace with God. Peace within yourself, peace with those around you! Peace! In your soul.”

Not the Land

Here’s another cry for something we all need. From Caedmon’s Call, “Not the Land.” This verse particularly fits these days:

“This is not the land was promised me
Even as far as my eyes can see
I’m so wound up, Lord, I can’t even breathe
And I don’t want words
I just want some peace
Some peace, some peace”

Make this soul sing

Thanks to my friend, Casey at “Faraway, So Close” for posting this video. The song seems particularly meaningful to me at this moment in my life. I feel the weight of my inability to be all that I need to be. I need to “fit”, I need to be made “clean”, and I need to feel my “soul sing”

“Take this soul
Stranded in some skin and bones
Take this soul
And make it sing”

I hopy you will enjoy the video as I did. It’s U2 performing the song Yahweh in Chicago.

Yahweh lyrics

Take these shoes
Click clacking down some dead end street
Take these shoes
And make them fit
Take this shirt
Polyester white trash made in nowhere
Take this shirt
And make it clean, clean
Take this soul
Stranded in some skin and bones
Take this soul
And make it sing

Yahweh, Yahweh
Always pain before a child is born
Yahweh, Yahweh
Still I’m waiting for the dawn

Take these hands
Teach them what to carry
Take these hands
Don’t make a fist
Take this mouth
So quick to criticise
Take this mouth
Give it a kiss

Yahweh, Yahweh
Always pain before a child is born
Yahweh, Yahweh
Still I’m waiting for the dawn

Still waiting for the dawn, the sun is coming up
The sun is coming up on the ocean
This love is like a drop in the ocean
This love is like a drop in the ocean

Yahweh, Yahweh
Always pain before a child is born
Yahweh, tell me now
Why the dark before the dawn?

Take this city
A city should be shining on a hill
Take this city
If it be your will
What no man can own, no man can take
Take this heart
Take this heart
Take this heart
And make it break

. . . it’s love writing this story

I come back to this song often. I was listening to it this evening in the car. It’s a nice word picture of the sovreign hand of God, through hurts and challenges. I believe what the song says, but I can’t always see it. O, why can’t I see the hand of love mixing the mortar and stacking the stones? I guess the mixing and stacking isn’t a pleasant process.

Show The Way
from the album Live Songs and Stories

You say you see no hope, you say you see no reason
We should dream that the world would ever change
You’re saying love is foolish to believe
‘Cause there’ll always be some crazy with an Army or a Knife
To wake you from your day dream, put the fear back in your life…

Look, if someone wrote a play just to glorify
What’s stronger than hate, would they not arrange the stage
To look as if the hero came too late he’s almost in defeat
It’s looking like the Evil side will win, so on the Edge
Of every seat, from the moment that the whole thing begins

It is…

Love who mixed the mortar
And it’s love who stacked these stones
And it’s love who made the stage here
Although it looks like we’re alone
In this scene set in shadows
Like the night is here to stay
There is evil cast around us
But it’s love that wrote the play…
For in this darkness love can show the way

So now the stage is set. Feel you own heart beating
In your chest. This life’s not over yet.
so we get up on our feet and do our best. We play against the
Fear. We play against the reasons not to try
We’re playing for the tears burning in the happy angel’s eyes

For it’s…

© David Wilcox, all rights reserved