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Picture - Thank you to @LillyAnn
Poem - My Prayer - Angie Bennett Prince - 11/29/10
Tuesday's Trust
Little Lamb, Who Gave Thee?
(As inspired by William Blake's poem,
"Little Lamb, Who Made Thee?")
Little lamb, who gave thee?
Dost thou know who gave thee?
Gave thee to your mom and dad,
Only li'l girl we had;
Gave thee spirit of delight,
Laughter peals, feminine fight;
Gave thee such a tender voice,
Making all our hearts rejoice?
Little lamb, who gave thee?
Dost thou know who gave thee?
Little lamb, I'll tell thee.
Little lamb, I'll tell thee.
He is called by thy name,
For He made Himself our Lamb.
He is meek, and He is mild;
He became a little child.
Both a child, and both a lamb,
But He is our Great I AM!
The greatest gift He did give:
Because He died...you now live!
Little Lamb, God loves thee!
Little Lamb, God loves thee!
Poem - Little Lamb, Who Gave Thee? - Angie Bennett Prince - 11/29/10
Tommy taught me a new word as I awakened us in the wee hours of the morning on Saturday so that I could write down the poem going through my head. Since he was awake, I asked him,
"What is the word for when two contradictory things are going on at once, but both are true/both are real?"
About the time I was thinking of the word "paradox," the strangest word came out of Tommy's mouth (and yes, this was very early on a Saturday morning!).
He answered, "Antinomy"!
I said I have never heard of that word! He laughed and said,
"Well, you didn't grow up going to Bible Studies led by Ken Boa!"(Ken Boa is an amazing expositor of Scripture {look on Amazon for many of Boa's books.} In Ken's early years, he came to Knoxville and worked in close association with Tommy's uncle, Matt Prince who started "New Life," which became a world-wide organization reaching out into homes to teach people about Christ in a way that Uncle Matt coined as "friendship evangelism.")
So when I went to look this strange word up, none of the ten dictionaries we have in our house had it listed, so Tommy pulls out a paperback dictionary he used in college, and there it was. Have any of you ever heard of this word before? Here is its definition:
Antinomy: a contradiction between two seemingly true statements;
Web definition: the mutual incompatibility, real or apparent, of two laws
We are faced with a seemingly "mutual incompatibility," facing our child's death which is heavy-laden with extreme and complicated grief for the child-loss parent, and yet rejoice in her being in the presence of her Lord. How can this be? How can one grieve and rejoice too? It is a seemingly impossible feat.
We are having to face the dire fact of her death which is like walking through Hell, while we are also attempting to peer into Heaven to "see" our child as she really is now; otherwise we are left staring in the face of her violent death every day (back to Hell).
God in His Word tells us to grieve, but not as one who has no hope. So our grief helps us face her death and mourn our great loss of her while our faith helps us look up and "see" with the eyes of faith the glorious surroundings in which our precious baby is living now!
My faith can rest in the vision of seeing our Lord saving our precious child, being with her every day, taking great delight over her, singing over her, quieting her with His love, and rejoicing over her! With that vision, I can indeed "grieve, but not as one with no hope." (See scriptures below my poem.)
Love's Antinomy:
Learning to Live with Contradiction in Grief
If He draws near and calls your name,
Who am I my child, to complain?
And yet my Lord loves me the same,
And bids me cry out 'gainst Death's bane
that struck you down amidst your youth,
forbidst you have a fighting chance!
He bids me hate Vile One uncouth,
E'en as I rejoice you're at th' Dance,
for God would never let you go
out of His hands, He loves you so!
Love calls me into paradox:
Welcome Life! ~ Hate Death's Evil Pox!
Though Death's destruction we do mourn,
We adore One who bore its thorn
That we may live and love again
God and loved ones ~ His Glorious Plan!
*****
"The LORD your God is with you,
He is mighty to save.
He will take great delight in you,
He will quiet you with his love,
He will rejoice over you with singing."
~Zephaniah 3:17 NIV
Brothers, we do not want you to be ignorant
about those who fall asleep,
or to grieve like the rest of men,
who have no hope.
We believe that Jesus died and rose again and so we believe that God will bring with Jesus those who have fallen asleep in him. According to the Lord’s own word, we tell you that we who are still alive, who are left till the coming of the Lord, will certainly not precede those who have fallen asleep. For the Lord himself will come down from heaven, with a loud command, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet call of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first. After that, we who are still alive and are left will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And so we will be with the Lord forever. Therefore encourage each other with these words.
~I Thessalonians 4:13- 18
The Lord your God is in the midst of you,
a Mighty One, a Savior [Who saves]!
He will rejoice over you with joy;
He will rest [in silent satisfaction]
and in His love He will be silent
and make no mention [of past sins, or even recall them];
He will exult over you with singing.
~Zephaniah 3:17 (Amplified Version)
"But for you who revere my name,
the sun of righteousness will rise with healing
in its wings. And you will go out and leap
like calves released from the stall."
~Malachi 4:2 NIV
Let them praise His name with dancing
and make music to Him with tambourine and harp.
For the LORD takes delight in His people...
~Psalm 149:3-4a NIV
Then God will rejoice over you
as a bridegroom rejoices over his bride.
~Isaiah 62:5 NLT
"I will also rejoice in Jerusalem and be glad in My people;
And there will no longer be heard in her
The voice of weeping and the sound of crying."
~Isaiah 65:19 NASB
The following song is a great song that declares this Biblical truth that our Lord rejoices over us and even sings over us! (I had never heard this song before either, but I just found it on YouTube, and I love it!) The video is precious too as it shows Jesus loving on children much like mine and your children!
~Trevor Morgan
The Lord your God is with you.
He is mighty to save.
He will take great delight in you.
He will quiet you with His love.
chorus:
He will rejoice over you with singing.
He will rejoice over you with His song.
He will rejoice over you with singing.
He will rejoice over you with His song.
The Lord your God is with you.
He is mighty to save.
He will take great delight in you.
He will quiet you with His love.
He will rejoice over you with singing.
He will rejoice over you with His song.
He will rejoice over you with singing.
He will rejoice over you with His song.
And through the night (in your darkest hour),
When you are tired (and you've lost all hope),
He will hold you tight.
He will rejoice over you with singing.
He will rejoice over you with His song.
He will rejoice over you with singing.
He will rejoice over you with His song.
He will rejoice.
He will rejoice.
He will rejoice.
He will rejoice.
He will rejoice!
*****
He puts a ring on our finger,
kills the fatted calf, throws a party,
shouts a shout that shakes the ends of creation,
and leads in the festal dance.
~John Piper, sermon, "The Lord will rejoice over you."
Friday's Faith
A Simple Holiday
"Sorrow removes your attention from the active life and focuses it on the things that matter most. When you are going through a period of extreme loss or pain, you reflect on the people who mean the most to you instead of on personal success; and the deep design of your life, instead of distracting gadgets and entertainments. You may be more open to the beauty of your world as a relief from distress. Beauty is always present, but ordinarily you may not notice it because of your priorities or your absorption in other things."
~Psychotherapist and former Catholic monk Thomas Moore
Tell me, how did you spend your Thanksgiving holiday this year? Did your holiday plans work for you this year? Did they help you in your grief, or did they complicate your grief? Let us know what your experience was like. The following poem tells how I spent mine, and how that worked out for me...
Thanksgiving presented us with the gift of unseasonably warm weather. Tommy and I had already declined all holiday festivities~we just couldn't be around other people on a holiday, and we knew it. So we took the opportunity to do a long-overdue chore (I'm sure many of you child-loss parents are very familiar with this Grief dilemma). We chose to bypass a big Thanksgiving Dinner and decided instead to work on painting the exterior of our house (mostly trim-work) before the cold of winter hits.
I had a melt-down of grief on Wednesday night, so I prayed as I awakened on this Thanksgiving morning that God would give me a mindless task to do so that I wouldn't be too fixated on my pain. Though I am exhausted, the house-painting-chore did the trick! I was able to focus diligently on the task at hand but still have a sweet time being quiet and allowing praise songs to come to mind as I meditated on God and so many of His blessings to us. Then I wrote this poem about how I chose to spend this holiday.
A Simple Holiday
Spending a day focused on what matters most,
A simple holiday with God as my Host,
Brings joy to my otherwise grieving heart
For silence and solitude strengthen my heart.
Hearing from Him brings Light to Death's dark ~
Communing with God transports me from grief so stark...
Into His loving, radiating warmth!
Away from festive outings where crowds swarm,
I am free to grieve, and yet with Him near,
My heart can find reprieve as His voice I hear.
Thanksgiving Day spent with hubby at home ~
A beautiful day with God's tenderness shown!
Picture: Norman Rockwell's painting from the cover of The Country Gentleman, 12/1/1917: "Cousin Reginald Catches the Thanksgiving Turkey"
Poem - A Simple Holiday - Angie Bennett Prince 11/25/10
Blessed Thanksgiving
Under Your Wings
~
"The Prayer" ~Celtic Woman
Under Your Wings...
My child who rests under Your wings,
Lifts her voice to You and sings ~
God who longs to gather us near,
Hold us close, and catch each tear ~
Surrounded by Your love each day,
We walk in peace midst grief's way.
May we too rest under Your wings
Like Your fragile bird who sings
Despite the cold, amidst the storm,
Knowing You're there to keep him warm.
Keep our hearts at rest in Thee.
Within grief's glow, Your face we'll see,
E'en as our child looks up at Thee...
*****
"The Prayer"
~Celtic Woman
I pray You'll be our eyes
And watch us where we go--
And help us to be wise
In times when we don't know...
Let this be our prayer
As we go our way:
Lead us to a place,
Guide us with Your grace,
To a place where we'll be safe.
I pray we'll find Your light
And hold it in our hearts;
When stars go out each night,
Remind us where You are.
Let this be our prayer
When shadows fill our day:
Lead us to a place,
Guide us with Your grace,
Give us faith so we'll be safe.
(Interlude)
We ask that life be kind
And watch us from above;
We hope each soul will find
Another soul to love...
Let this be our prayer:
Just like every child
Needs to find a place
Guide us with Your grace
Give us faith so we'll be safe.
Need to find a place,
Guide us with Your grace,
Give us faith so we'll be safe.
*****
He who dwells in the shelter
of the Most High
will rest in the shadow of
the Almighty...
He will cover you with His
feathers,
and under His wings you
will find refuge...
~Psalm 91:1,4a
I call on You, O God, for
You will answer me;
give ear to me and hear
my prayer.
Show the wonder of Your
great love,
You who save by Your right
hand
those who take refuge in
You from their foes.
Keep me as the apple of
Your eye;
hide me in the shadow of
Your wings...
~Psalm 17:6-8
How priceless is Your
unfailing love!
Both high and low among
men
find refuge in the shadow
of Your wings.
They feast on the abundance
of Your house;
You give them drink from
Your river of delights.
For with You is the fountain
of life;
in Your light we see
light.
~Psalm 36:7-9
Have mercy on me, O God,
have mercy on me,
for in You my soul takes
refuge.
I will take refuge in the
shadow of Your wings
until the disaster has
passed.
I cry out to God Most High,
to God, who fulfills His
purpose for me.
He sends from heaven and
saves me...
~Psalm 57:1-3a
Hear my cry, O God;
listen to my prayer.
From the ends of the earth I
call to You,
I call as my heart grows
faint;
lead me to the rock that is
higher than I.
For You have been my
refuge,
a strong tower against the
foe.
I long to dwell in Your tent
forever
and take refuge in the
shelter of Your wings.
Selah.
~Psalm 61:1-4
O God, You are my God,
earnestly I seek You;
my soul thirsts for You,
my body longs for You,
in a dry and weary land
where there is no water.
I have seen You in the
sanctuary
and beheld Your power
and Your glory.
Because Your love is better
than life,
my lips will glorify You.
I will praise You as long as I
live,
and in Your name I will lift
up my hands.
My soul will be satisfied as
with the richest of foods;
with singing lips my mouth
will praise You.
On my bed I remember You;
I think of You through the
watches of the night.
Because You are my help,
I sing in the shadow of
Your wings.
I stay close to You;
Your right hand upholds
me.
~Psalm 63:1-8
Picture: http://angelos-gabriyel.xanga.com/687367996/rest-in-the-shadow-of-his-wings/
Video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RQ928V55S5U&feature=rec-LGOUT-real_rev-rn-1r-2-HM
Poem - Under Your Wings - Angie Bennett Prince - 11/22/10
All scriptures are from the New International Version of the Holy Bible
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