Though I'm not a gifted singer (in any sense of the word, Lord help me and anyone who sits near me in church). But I really enjoy music! All sorts too. I probably have one of the most eclectic collections. (Though I have toned it down a bit in recent years :). Music to me is healing and has been a big part of my own journey.
Rewind <<< to April 17, 2013...unfortunately nothing written in my journal that day. The day before, the day after though (go figure). But I had a blog post with this video; Blessings. (lyrics are below). Okay, fastfoward >>> to today...had the same song in my head after a discussion yesterday about gratitude and the homily from today coincided with this conversation. (Go figure...God is so good like that...LOVE when he does that)!! Father spoke about, "Being grateful for the gift of faith and if we wish to be fruitful in the world to have an attitude of gratefulness. God bestows all of these blessings upon us even when we don't deserve them, even when we don't desire them. Not just reflecting on our past but how God is present to us now." So reflecting on this I thought it might be interesting to learn background story behind this artist's song. Maybe learn a bit why she wrote it, what her story was and perhaps why it was resonating with me. Here's clip:
Okay, I was intrigued to say the least. We had a connection...she mentioned something about her husband's health but did not go into details. I wanted to dig deeper and learn more and as I read her bio the tears fell. Lump in my throat and I began to understand why the song stayed with me. It sang to my own heart. Just married, newlyweds and then her husband was diagnosed with a brain tumor! You can read more of her story; Laura Story's Artist Profile. Though there are similarities, of course our stories differ in many respects. But like her, I too have felt blessed and grateful, amidst the grief and loss. I was just telling a friend at breakfast this morning how lucky AND blessed I feel that Mike lived over 4 years post-diagnosis and that we were able to live and do all we did during that time and grow in our faith together. Not everybody gets that opportunity when their loved one is diagnosed with a brain tumor or another illness. I'm not pretending to understand but I pray that perhaps with faith, healing (and yes prayers) I can (we all can) continue to recognize the blessings not just in our past but now, how God is presently working in our lives.
"Let my mouth be filled with your praise, that I may sing aloud; my lips shall shout for joy, when I sing to you, alleluia." (4/17/13 Entrance Antiphon)
We pray for blessings, we pray for peace
Comfort for family, protection while we sleep
We pray for healing, for prosperity
We pray for Your mighty hand to ease our suffering
All the while You hear each spoken need
Yet love is way too much to give us lesser things
'Cause what if Your blessings come through raindrops
What if Your healing comes through tears?
What if a thousand sleepless nights
Are what it takes to know You're near?
What if trials of this life
Are Your mercies in disguise?
We pray for wisdom, Your voice to hear
We cry in anger when we cannot feel You near
We doubt Your goodness, we doubt Your love
As if every promise from Your Word is not enough
And all the while You hear each desperate plea
And long that we'd have faith to believe
'Cause what if Your blessings come through raindrops
What if Your healing comes through tears?
And what if a thousand sleepless nights
Are what it takes to know You're near?
And what if trials of this life
Are Your mercies in disguise?
When friends betray us, when darkness seems to win
We know that pain reminds this heart
That this is not, this is not our home
It's not our home
'Cause what if Your blessings come through raindrops
What if Your healing comes through tears?
And what if a thousand sleepless nights
Are what it takes to know You're near?
What if my greatest disappointments
Or the aching of this life
Is the revealing of a greater thirst
This world can't satisfy?
And what if trials of this life
The rain, the storms, the hardest nights
Are Your mercies in disguise?
I love that song so much...Thank you so much for sharing this. :) Hugs!
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