What If
Digitizing cassette tapes from the 1990s this past week, I came across a tape I had recorded with my much younger voice singing, “Nose against the window pane, silent tears fall like rain.” At 1:45am, Sabbath morning, before ever hearing Pr. Ken Wetmore’s sermon on Psalms 23, the unfinished words from my song kept haunting me. I had spent much of Friday evening conversing online with a friend who is having some serious family issues, and I kept thinking of her, as I reflected on the intense trauma my family has endured over the past 13 years and how I could relate to her situation. I wondered, “What would I have said to the me walking through the darkest valleys back then? What piece of encouragement would have given me hope to keep moving forward, trusting in God when I couldn’t see a positive outcome?” That’s when the words of the first verse started pouring out of me:
“What if this time,
what if this place,
is waiting for you
to see the Lord’s face…
In the brokenness,
in the impossible,
in all the ugliness
where there’s no beautiful…”
My head didn’t see my pillow until 3:00am.
I then watched WholeLife Church’s second service online Sabbath morning and resonated with Pr. Ken’s words, “We all need a shepherd.” Knowing his sermon only covered verses one through three of the 23rd Psalm, I looked up the following verses to get an idea where next week’s sermon might be headed. Mind you, this was AFTER I wrote the following words and the second verse to my song:
“He’s right there,
you’re not alone,
your pain He feels it
like His own;
and though your problems
seem so big
He’s ready, there,
to meet your need.
So, give it to Him;
leave it with Him;
trust in His heart
when your future looks grim…
Because there’s no doubt
He will work it out;
His love for you
is what it’s all about
that will not change from here to eternity.”
As you know, the 23rd Psalm concludes:
“Even when I walk through the darkest valley, I will not be afraid, for You are close beside me. Your rod and Your staff protect and comfort me. Surely Your goodness and unfailing love will pursue me all the days of my life, and I will live in the house of the Lord forever.” Psalms 23:4, 6 NLT
I am convinced this song is a God thing. ♥️ Now to find someone who can help me put some background music to it, as I only have the words and a tune. (This isn’t one I wrote on the piano.) 😎🎶😎
