Tonight I was reading through FaceBook and saw a post asking who had old technology. One item named was CDs. Well that got me thinking about my CDs. I haven't had any in years and I thought to myself that it doesn't really matter because I have Spotify. Then I remembered one particular CD that I had that might not be on spotify. So I searched. Sure enough it wasn't there. So I thought about YouTube and searched there. Found it!
The CD? "God is Here".
To my amazement YouTube has the video of the live recording of the album at Abundant Life Church in Bradford England. I was there in the fall of 2003 when they made the recording. I was pregnant with Natalie. In an instant the memory of that night flooded back. I remember sitting to the right of the stage. I remember the feeling of the best worship experience i have ever had corporately. The musicians were professionals. The audience was authentic. The room was alive that night with music. The beat hit my very soul. The violins soared. Tears streamed down my face. I felt my child, Natalie, dance in the womb. I thought to myself, "her first dance for Jesus."
Watching the video I began to wonder if I could see myself in the crowd. 'What did I look like?' I can't remember. 'What was I wearing? ' I don't know.
I don't remember any of those things. Do you know what I remember? The lyrics. "God is Here. Let the weak say I am strong. God is Here. His wonders to perform." Know what I remember? The way I felt. God himself touching my soul.
My life has changed a lot since then. I'm divorced. My first marriage fell apart. The hopes and dreams I had when I got married long ago broken. My baby? Grown. Gone. She moved to be with her dad about 1000 miles from my front door. The people in my daily life now? I didn't even know them that night. My current husband, my coworkers, my youngest daughter.
But one thing did not change since that night. The Father. He was the same that night as he is tonight. I look back on the 2003 video of that worship experience and remember what the world was like back then. There was no COVID. There was not as much division in America. People weren't as divisive. But you know what? God didn't change. He never has. He was the same then as he is now as he was at the beginning of creation.
There is comfort in the known. There is comfort in familiarity.
I felt the need tonight to write down my thoughts. I feel that God has a message to share and I need to obey by using my fingers on this keyboard to get the words out.
Brothers and Sisters in Christ, the world feels like it has gone crazy lately. There are people dying from COVID, there are children orphaned, it seems like no one can agree on how to best handle the pandemic. I feel weary of the amount of arguing between every political party. And yet the answer is so simple. But our world has held our attention on so many meaningless things that we have too busy to remember where our focus should be. Focus on Him. When the world is falling apart - focus on Him. When the division is too much - Focus on Him. He never changes. He never will. As this world spins out of control He is our constant. He is our stability. Sit with Him in silence. Sit with Him in the familiarity of your favorite hymns. Remember when life was simple. Remember that He was there then. Remember He is there now.
Cast your cares on Him for He cares for you. His promises are yes and amen. He is close to the brokenhearted. He is faithful. The fruit of the Spirit includes joy and peace. Let us seek after the Spirit.
God is Here. He always was. He always is.
All my love to you dear ones.
No comments:
Post a Comment