Wednesday, September 28, 2011

Refuge





God is our refuge and strength, an ever-present help in trouble. 
Therefore we will not fear, though the earth give way and the mountains fall into the heart of the sea, though its waters roar and foam and the mountains quake with their surging.

Psalm 46:1-3


The first thing that I wanted to do when I stepped foot inside my front door tonight was run to Noah's room, hold him and make sure he was alright.  I suppressed that desire, however, since it was one o'clock in the morning, and the little tike probably would not appreciate the gesture as much as I assumed he should.  More importantly, I quickly realized that the hug would have been for my own need for comfort more than it was for his.  

Noah got sick to his stomach for the first time tonight-- at our baby-sitter's home.  I got the news while I was on a break at work and it practically made me sick.  I had to stop eating my dinner.  Poor guy!  He must be so confused.  He must be feeling horrible.  I NEED to help him!  But I wasn't there.  I was at work, and drudging through a pretty crummy shift at that.  It made me feel awful.  Stuck.  Incompetent.  Frustrated.  Thankfully his baby-sitter was there, a wonderful woman whom God has placed in Noah's life and heart.  But I still felt horrible. My heart yearned.  I wanted to comfort him, and I wanted his little goofy grin to strengthen me and tell me that everything would be alright.

As I think about the Lord, I am hit hard with the realization that our refuge, strength, and comfort should come from none other than Him.  He has blessed us with our earthly relationships to give us glimpses of what he can offer us, but if that's all we ever experience, we miss something wonderful.  His refuge and strength never fail, never meet a challenge they can't overcome, never disappoint, never waver, and never sleep.  They are free for the taking if we will only allow our hearts to be swept up into love with him.

Wednesday, September 21, 2011

Music


"Shout for joy to the Lord, all the earth, burst into jubilant song with music." 
Psalm 98:4

Noah is captivated by music.  It seems as though it has been that way since day one.  When he first began to gain control of his limbs, it was in church during praise songs that he would choose to flail most exuberantly.  When he first began to say "words," it seemed to be in a sing-song voice.  "Music" is one of the signs that he chooses to use most frequently (behind "eat," "milk," and "more," of course), and it's closely followed these days by "drum" and "guitar."


Dave and I have the privilege of hosting my nephew, Ben, at our house while he's doing a month-long internship with our church's worship band.  Our home is now graced daily with the soothing plucks and upbeat strums of the strings from Ben's guitar.  (A teenager who's graduated from high school and removed from his buddies has lots of time in the day to practice the guitar...)


I'm pretty sure that Noah adores Ben.  Ben's a great person in his own right, but the fact that he makes music puts him pretty near deity in Noah's world.  The little guy is constantly making his way into Ben's room, trying to get a touch of the wonderful instrument that makes such great music.  And Ben's a pretty good sport about letting Noah have a few strums every once in a while, although he quickly learned how to close the door of the guest room.


I thank God for the desire for music that he has put in each one of our souls.  I don't know a single person who is not drawn to music, be it classical or screamo.  Most of my days are engulfed by music, be it the background noise at the coffee shop, the sound my coworkers singing or the Pandora app on my iPod, and I imagine most people share my experience.  


Since God created us in His image, does he like to listen to music as well?  I imagine that it brings him joy to hear "all the earth burst into jubilant song."  I'm so glad he passed that on to us.