Lyrical lessons

Sometimes, song lyrics speak the strongest lessons to me. They remind me of powerful truths. They encourage and strengthen my heart. Sometimes, they even give me that "umph" I need to keep going.

While teaching in Ohio, I would often listen to the same song on repeat on my drive to school. My second year of teaching was especially difficult, so I repeated songs A LOT that year. My drive was fifteen to twenty minutes long, so that meant I listened to the song three or four times. Which song I repeated changed from time to time. But what this did was solidified the Truth that the song spoke in my heart and mind, so that it stayed there all day. It was the reminder that I needed to get through the day.

I'm currently in a season of life where, simply put, I'm fighting a battle of truth and lies. We all have struggles, and I'm at a point where I feel like my struggles have me stuck in a rut. The reality is that God is bringing healing in my life, but it is a veeeeeeeeeery slooooooooooow process. Much slower than I would choose, if I were in control.

Which brings me to lyrical lesson #1, taken from "Break Open the Sky" by Tobymac (side note: my husband finds it amusing that I love Tobymac, but the guy has great lyrics and a style that I feel exudes the freedom that comes from true grace.) One line in that song says "Won't you turn off gravity so we can fly?" When I first heard this line, my thought was, " Turning off gravity? How realistic is that?!" ** But then....Aren't our requests to God sometimes that absurd?

So, too, is my cry of desperation for God to end this struggle now. It's an absurd request. Yes, it's an honest request, coming from the depths of my heart when I feel like this struggle will never get better or never end. As I said to Mike last night, I don't want to be the person I am right now for the rest of my life.

But if God just picked me up out of this struggle right now, it would be like half-baking a cake, or only halfway firing a piece of pottery. Who wants a half-baked cake or unfinished pottery? (I seem to have developed a habit of unintentionally half-baking brownies recently, but that's another story for another time.)

A friend sent me a video of the song "Stronger" by Mandisa. As I sat here this morning listening to it, the lyrics were EXACTLY what my heart needed to hear. (I love how God does that!)

When the waves are taking you under
Hold on just a little bit longer
He knows that this is gonna make you stronger, stronger
The pain ain't gonna last forever
And things can only get better

...

Try and do the best you can
Hold on and let Him hold your hand
And go on and fall into the arms of Jesus
Oh, lift your head it's gonna end
God's right there
Even when you just can't feel Him
I promise you that He still cares

'Cause if He started this work in your life
He will be faithful to complete it
If only you believe it
He knows how much it hurts
And I'm sure that He's gonna help you get through this

God is the Master Potter, who is refining me. Refining isn't an easy process - it's through the fire. I won't be that finished piece of pottery this side of heaven, but as Mandisa says, "the pain ain't gonna last forever."

**Please note: This Tobymac song speaks of Christ's second coming to rapture his church. I know that my reaction was, therefore, "out of context," but it was my reaction when I heard that one line, without listening to the meaning of the whole song.