“Amazing Grace” is probably one of the most iconic songs in existence!  The trouble with iconic songs is that people can end up singing them with no thought to what they’re actually singing about.  Amazing Grace has been in more movies than I can count, and most of the time the movies had nothing at all to do with Jesus, the cross, us being wretched sinners, or anything at all even Christian!  It’s there as mood music, or as a veiled reference to redemption- not redemption through Jesus mind you, just redemption.

“Amazing Grace” has become like “The Lord’s Prayer”.  We know it, we can recite it by rote, but are the truths of the song alive to us?

You can be sure that when John Newton wrote the lyrics to “Amazing Grace” he wasn’t mindlessly reciting.  You don’t write about being a wretched sinner unless you’re feeling at least a little bit vile.  You don’t pen lyrics about being spiritually lost and blind unless you’re feeling somewhat vacant.  Likewise, the thrill of being delivered from the ugly mess that is you, by a God who loves you even though you are an ugly mess, isn’t something you find yourself writing about unless a major event has opened your eyes and changed your life.

And that is the problem with an iconic song like Amazing Grace- while it was true for Newton, it may not be so true of us!  Anyone can sing a song, even someone with absolutely no experience in what the song’s about can sing it, but have you felt the weight of it?  Have you soared to the heights of it?  Do you know your own vile wretchedness?  Have you experienced the joy of sins forgiven in Jesus Christ and been made a “new creation”?

Some songs are not made for mindless mouthing; this isn’t a Katy Perry pop song.

Long after Katy Perry’s songs have been forgotten, songs like “Amazing Grace” will live on. But there again is the trouble- iconic songs live on whether the generation living 1000 years down the road even knows what the song’s talking about anymore!  ”Yeah, Yeah, Amazing Grace, that would be a cool song for that moment in the movie where the character that went wrong is embraced by his family again.”  Or maybe it’s used in the scene where the drug addict finds his way back to community and healing.

No, no.  Don’t you see?  The thing that is “amazing”, the thing that this song is talking about, is JESUS CHRIST.

It’s not a feel good song meant to be sung at the emotional stirring point of a movie, or an anthem song sung after a tragedy while a community holds hands and sways together in tears.  ”Amazing Grace” is about JESUS CHRIST first and foremost; it is about how He takes sinful people and wrecked lives; how He takes struggling sinners by the hand and delivers them out of darkness.  There is no “Amazing Grace” without Jesus.

It’s said the lyrics to Amazing Grace have been associated with at least 20 melodies.  That doesn’t surprise me- After I wrote my version of Amazing Grace I became friends with someone else who had just written her own melody for it. (I wish I could share hers with you- it’s beautiful, but as of yet, not yet filed for copyright.)  Then, of course, there’s also Chris Tomlin’s recent version “Amazing Grace, My chains are gone”.  What’s happening here that new melodies are constantly being written for words that were first penned in 1772?

Amazing Grace- Thank You Jesus

When I wrote my version of Amazing Grace it was out of a reflective moment of looking back at the goodness, mercy and love of God toward me.  Like the lyrics of the song, my life has gone though many things, of which Jesus has brought me though them all.  And as I sat there in our apartment I couldn’t help but think of how wonderful God’s love has been to me.  I’m totally undeserving of His love, and yet He has totally poured out His love upon me.  So my version is just me saying, “Thank You!  Thank You Jesus, for loving me.”  I’m not worthy of his love, but He has given Himself for me, and to me, COMPLETELY.  The reason so many others have written new melodies for the song is that we have, like John Newton before us, been amazed by Jesus.  I personally think new versions of the song are good because they present Newton’s lyrics in a new way and make us think.  Amazing Grace is not amazing if you have never personally experienced it!  Singing an iconic song can make you feel cozy I suppose, like you’re a part of the stream of those who came before you, but it’s better by far to drink of the stream yourself.

Taste and see that the Lord is good!  (Psalm 34:8)

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I wrote “That’s Only Half Of It” on a beautiful sunny day while driving across the Courtney Campbell Causeway from Tampa to Clearwater, FL.  I always carried with me a micro recorder to capture the songs that would often burst out of me.  This was one of those times!  I was a pretty new Christian and totally new to Florida.  Growing up in the Midwest I had never seen the ocean in person.  I loved the constant sunshine and sandy beaches that were all around me in Clearwater.  On that particular day I was headed over the causeway and loving everything that filled my eyes!  “Man, this is AWESOME Lord!”  That’s when the thought hit me, “Whoa!  That’s only half of it!  If you think this is good, it’s nothing compared to what Jesus has to give you!”  As I drove over Tampa Bay this song came bursting out of me.

The truth is, whatever and however good it gets down here, it can’t begin to compare with what God’s got in store for us!

That is what the Scriptures mean when they say, “No eye has seen, no ear has heard, and no mind has imagined what God has prepared for those who love him.” (1 Corinthians 2:9)

You think you have a good thing going on now?  It doesn’t even come close to what God has for you if you’re His child!

So the thing about this song is that as I go through the verses, it just keeps getting better.  All the things God tells us in His Word- it just expands and unfolds to ever greater things.  In Jesus, it’s always a “That’s only half of it” because there’s always more to discover in Him!

And then, of course, there’s the very short chorus that repeats in the song.  “For the kingdom of this world has become the kingdom of our Lord and of His Christ…” (Revelation 11:15)

We all know this world isn’t just beaches and sunshine.  There’s some really bad stuff that goes on down here; there’s sickness and sin, sadness and pain under this beautiful sunshine we all enjoy.  But even that God’s going to turn around!

“Then I saw ‘a new heaven and a new earth,’ for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away…” (Revelation 21:1)

“‘He will wipe every tear from their eyes.  There will be no more death, or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away.” (Revelation 21:4)

So that’s the kind of stuff that was filling my heart as I drove across the causeway.  It was a ‘WOW!’ moment.  It was sheer joy!

A few years later I ended up moving to Ft. Lauderdale, FL where I met Clay Hecocks.  Clay is the one who played piano on this song (as well as a number of other songs that are on “Jesus On My Mind”).  I had worked with a few other keyboard players to try and record this, but Clay was the one who really “got it” and played the part that expressed what the song was all about.  Ray Wright played bass on this song and I love how he skipped about like a ram (part of the lyrics) with his bass part.   Frank Basile is on drums.  Frank does custom drum recordings from his website and appears on a number of my songs.  He has a gift for online collaboration if you need a drummer!

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Encouragement might just be one of the greatest unexpressed needs.

In a world where everyone’s urged to talk about themselves, encouragement of others stands out as one of the most needed, and at the same time, most lacking character traits.  In an almost diabolical paradox, social media (which could be used as one of the most beneficial aids to encouragement) often ends up being used as nothing more than an advertisement to self- we want everyone to notice and encourage us, while we offer little encouragement to others!  

That seems to be the way it goes you know.  We are all very hungry for encouragement, but for some reason, fail to be the one who is there to give encouragement to others.

Barnabas, The Son of Encouragement

There’s a man in the bible whose name is really Joseph, but the apostles forever changed his name by always calling him Barnabas.

“Joseph, a Levite from Cyprus, whom the apostles called Barnabas (which means “son of encouragement”)”  (Acts 4:36)

How cool is that!  This guy’s gotten so good at encouraging others that people start calling him, “Son of Encouragement”.  ”Hey, Son of Encouragement, how are things going today?”  You know, that’s how they thought of this guy.  Just the sight of Joseph made them think about how he’s always out there lifting people up, bringing hope and a ray of sunshine into other peoples’ lives, so they just started calling him “Son of Encouragement”.

I don’t even want to think what people might be calling some of us!

Hey, there goes “complainer”.  Imagine being renamed “complainer”.  Or how about “prideful”? Or maybe, “gossip”? It makes me think of the book Pilgrim’s Progress where all the characters are named after their most noticed attributes- you had “Mr. Greatheart” and “Hopeful” and guys like that, but you also had, “Talkative” (we all know talkative!) and “Giant Despair” who was the “Master of Doubting Castle”.  The whole book is filled with characters who are named after their main character qualities.  Well, that’s what they did with Joseph, they renamed him Barnabas because everyone could plainly see this guy was the”Son of Encouragement” (and, let’s face it, it’s easier to say Barnabas than, “Hey, there goes Son of Encouragement!”)

Well, the name stuck.  And guess who’s name always comes up first when the church talks about the need for encouragement?  You guessed it, smiling Barnabas.

Be the encouragement you wish you had

My post today is very simple really- give the encouragement you wish others would give you.

We all know we need it; we all know how much we crave it; each of us knows how good it feels to be affirmed and encouraged.  It may be your encouragement that helps someone else go on and not give up.  That’s the awesome thing about encouragement- more is better, but most of the time it doesn’t take much!  A simple encouraging text, a quick call, or a short word is often all it takes to make a positive impact in someone else’s life.

Just be the encouragement you wish you had.

I’ll be honest, sometimes it’s been hard for me to go on doing what I’m doing, writing my blog, recording my music, talking with others about Jesus because there is often little affirmation given by others.  I often give out my music for free, for example, and don’t receive something as simple as a “Thank You”.  I came to terms with that by realizing that Jesus even healed people without receiving that common courtesy.

Jesus asked, “Were not all ten cleansed? Where are the other nine?  Has no one returned to give praise to God except this foreigner?” (Luke 17:17-18)

Most of us are in that situation actually.  We go through our lives doing the best we can, but affirmation can be hard to come by.  The fact is, it’s hard to continue anything in life without encouragement.  It’s easy to start thinking that what we do doesn’t really matter that much if we rarely receive encouragement. The truth is, who you are, and what you do, most likely matters far more that you realize, it’s just that very few will actually take the time to tell you! Why do you think Barnabas stood out from the crowd?  Because he was a bright light of encouragement in a world that doesn’t bother to pat you on the back.  Barnabas would notice you; and Barnabas took the time to tell you he noticed you.

My own need for encouragement has driven me to try to become what I would most like to receive in my own life.  Be the change you want to see in life.  Yes, there is a lot of truth in that.  You can choose to make someone’s life better by giving them what you wish other’s gave you. After all, isn’t that what Jesus taught us to do?

“Do to others as you would have them do to you.” (Luke 6:31)

Take the step, start the action- Be the encouragement that someone else needs.

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Some Christians would prefer to only talk about the love of God and never mention His wrath- they love the thought of forgiveness, but don’t think much about obedience.  To them, John the Baptist makes a good bible story, but they sure don’t expect to encounter a man or a message like his at their church!

“Prepare the Way of The Lord” was one of the earliest Christian songs that I wrote.  It appeared on my first album which has long since gone out of production.  As a brand new Christian I realized that God was calling me to something that demanded all of me and everything I had.  My experience of Jesus was not founded in a church, it was forged out of a radical call of God on my life to leave a particular sin and come follow Him.  I had been very involved in astrology and psychic practices and Jesus took aim at these things and called me to come out from them.  Do you know that the whole bible is a record of God calling people to “come out from among them” in order that He might have a people for Himself, called by His name?  And that call continues right on into the New Testament:

Therefore, “Come out from them and be separate”, says the Lord. “Touch no unclean thing, and I will receive you.” (1 Corinthians 6:17)

Even this thing we call “the church” has that meaning.  The term for church is actually “ekklesia” which means “the called out ones”.  We are called out from the world, to God.  God’s call to us to be separate from the world is not a harsh one, but rather, a holy one.  Since He is holy, He demands that we should also be holy.

For it is written: “Be holy, because I am holy.”  (1 Peter 1:16)

This radical change of life direction is what the Christian life is all about!  Jesus told us to come follow Him and take up our cross!  John the Baptist might have sounded very radical when he talked about taking an axe to the root of the tree and cutting off all that is not from God, but all John was doing was getting the stage set for the most radical change of all- following Jesus Christ!  Listen to what John said…

“I baptize you with water for repentance. But after me comes one who is more powerful than I, whose sandals I am not worthy to carry. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire.  His winnowing fork is in his hand, and he will clear his threshing floor, gathering his wheat into the barn and burning up the chaff with unquenchable fire.”  (Matthew 3:11-12)

Clearly following Jesus means more than going to church and singing worship songs on a Sunday morning!

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“When I Consider” was written recently after experiencing an overwhelming sense of God’s love for me.  I think that whenever the Holy Spirit comes upon a person a renewed awareness of God’s love will be one of the immediate results.

“… because God has poured out His love into our hearts by the Holy Spirit, whom He has given to us.” (Romans 5:5)

From my experience two things have always happened when God has poured out His Spirit in my life-

1.  I’m made aware of how great a sinner I am.
2.  I realize that God totally loves me and receives me in Jesus Christ.

There are those who will try to tell you that speaking in tongues is the evidence that one has received the Holy Spirit.  No, that is not the evidence!  The proof is that you are made to see that you are a wretched sinner and yet God has poured out His love for you through Jesus Christ.  You should be condemned for your sins but you are welcomed into the family of God and made His child; you should be accused of your sins and made to pay for them, but you discover it’s all been paid for and taken care of by Jesus!

“See what great love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God!  And that is what we are!”  (1 John 3:1)

Amazing?  Yes!  I’m totally amazed by the love of God; totally caught up in His love and held by His embrace.  There is no reason a holy God should love a vile sinner; there is no reason one so great as He should love one as low as me.  There is no reasonable explanation other than it’s God’s heart to love!  There is NO other love like it in the entire universe!

“When I Consider” is off the album “Jesus On My Mind“.

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The third track from my album “Jesus On My Mind” is called “The Lord Was Crucified For Me”.  I wrote it in 1985, just a year after becoming a believer.  I’ve always loved this song because it conveys the undeniable changes that were going on in my life after I first met the Lord.  I was a brand new christian at the time and I was overwhelmed by the sense of God’s love for me.  I felt that whatever had to go in this world to get me closer to Jesus was well worth it.  When the apostle Paul talks about counting the world as loss for the sake of knowing Jesus Christ in the book of Philippians, well, that was totally me!  I had just discovered the one thing that really mattered in life and I wasn’t about to let this world get in the way of it.  The secret that the apostle Paul knew, and that I had just discovered, was that Jesus had not just come into the world to save a faceless, nameless planet of people- He had come and died for ME, and He loved ME.  Knowing that, and I mean really knowing that to my core, is what changed me.  This was not just religion, I had met the Son of God, and He loved me!  The apostle Paul put it like this…

“The life I live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me.”  (Galatians 2:20)

This is the first recording I’ve made of the song even though it was written so long ago.  The piano part was played by Clay Hecocks (the worship leader of Calvary Chapel Fort Lauderdale) during an extended period when I lived in Florida.  Clay would often help me out by doing some piano parts for me that I used when I was traveling to churches to sing.  (Clay, by the way, is an excellent songwriter in his own right and has written and produced many worship songs.)  I took Clay’s original piano part that he did for me back in the 90′s and used it for this recording.  I ended up writing a string/brass arrangement to add to what he had already done with strings and piano, and then recorded new drums and vocals for the song.

The truths that are in this song stand the test of time.  Jesus will forever be the one thing we need most in life, and if we let Him, He will literally flood our hearts with His very presence.

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First love… You remember what it’s like… You can’t stop thinking about the person; your heart pounds faster when you’re around them; you stay up way later and get up way earlier just to be with them; your eyes SPARKLE at just the thought of them, and whenever you’re around them you can’t look away.  Life suddenly becomes about THEM!  When you wake up guess who’s on your mind?  During the day your mind floats away to thoughts of being with them, and at night, instead of counting sheep, you picture them with you, hand in hand (which, of course, gives you insomnia) but you don’t care because it’s one more moment to reflect back on time spent together, and dream about what tomorrow may bring.

A lot of people don’t know that falling in love with Jesus can be just like that!  They think that meeting Jesus is all about boring religious stuff.  They could never imagine the passion that goes with being in love as having anything to do with knowing Jesus.  I used to be one of those people.  My brother was a Pastor and I just didn’t get the whole “Jesus thing.”  It seemed very, very boring to me.  Boy, was I ever wrong.  Meeting Jesus turned out to be the greatest first love I’ve ever known!

To all the skeptics and overly serious types out there, yes, the love of Christ is all about agape love.  I know that, and believe that TOTALLY.

Here’s a good definition of agape found at about.com:

“Agape is selfless, sacrificial, unconditional love, the highest of the four types of love in the Bible.”

That fits Jesus perfectly!  But you’d be wrong to think that Jesus isn’t romantic.  Have you ever opened the bible and read the “Song of Songs”?  Do you think Jesus calls us His bride without reason?  Jesus is passionately in love with His people!

Or have you never read what He has to say about us losing our passion for Him?

“Yet I hold this against you: You have forsaken your first love.  Remember the height from which you have fallen!  Repent and do the things you did at first.”  (Revelation 2:4-5)

My song “Jesus On My Mind” is all about first love.

When I met Jesus He was with me for breakfast, lunch and supper.  He was the first thing to come to mind when I woke up, and the last thing I thought of before I went to sleep.  He was all-consuming!  I had just found the love of my life and I wanted the whole world to know it!  I was so into Jesus that it annoyed people who were around me.  I was always there in the kitchen reading my bible (reading it out loud!).  I would pull out my guitar in the kitchen and write and sing songs about Jesus while my Mom prepared supper.  My sister couldn’t enter or leave the house without going through the kitchen, so that meant encountering me preaching or singing to myself!  Was I annoying?  Yes I was!  But I was in love!  We’ve all been there, but in this case it wasn’t a girl that had my head spinning, it was Jesus that was always on my mind.  The more I thought about Jesus, the more I loved Him!

You’ll notice in “Jesus On My Mind” that the bridge is in contrast to the verses of the song.  In the verses I talk about knowing and loving Jesus; in the bridge I contrast that with the temporary things this world gives.  This world is constantly passing away; I think about that a lot.  Nothing here lasts for very long, and before long we ourselves pass out of here and face eternity.  Now compare that to Jesus Christ- His love is constant and never wavers; He offers us a place that lasts FOREVER and will never pass away.  If ever there was someone worthy of our affection, adoration, devotion and love, it’s Jesus Christ.  So call me crazy, but when it comes to love, it doesn’t get any better than Jesus!

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The story behind “Beautiful, Jesus You Are” is actually a real life example of the song’s lyrics.  I didn’t plan it that way though…

The song was born after a very anointed worship time at a home group my wife and I were a part of.  When the night started I didn’t feel particularly “spiritual”.  In fact, during that season of my life I was feeling kind of on the dry side of things.  We had a small group of young people who would step over into a side room to lead worship.  Rachel would often be on the piano and her playing always seemed to be anointed.  She had a gift; not just a musical skill, but a gift- when she played we sensed Jesus!  Well, on this night, for me anyway, it was as if heaven opened up and poured water on this dry soul.  Not just a drop or two, but a heavenly downpour!  I left that night very much changed.  I had been in the presence of Jesus, and that changes everything.  The next morning I literally woke up with a new song in my heart!  And not just one song, but like the downpour I felt the night before, the songs just came pouring out of me.  “Beautiful, Jesus You Are” was one of them.

The point of that song is a very simple one, but in it is one of the most powerful truths of the Christian life- being in the presence of Jesus changes us.  I didn’t sit down and write this song in order to tell this truth, I wrote it because it’s what happened to me!  I had been in His presence and was changed!

Now, I can say that I’ve experienced this to be true many times over the years since becoming a Christian.  Being in His presence changes me more than all my efforts at reform, more than all my bible studying and “trying harder”.  Just simply being in His presence and having a revelation of Him, THAT has power to transform.  Jesus can do more in an instant than you can do in a lifetime!  Having a revelation of Him, an experience of Him, is the most wonderfully transformative thing in the universe!

My song says…

“As I gaze at your face I’m changed, I am suddenly rearranged- I could never remain the same, after seeing your glory, the love you have for me!”

Exactly!  Yes, that is it!

Now read how the Word of God puts it:

“And we all, with unveiled face, beholding the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from one degree of glory to another. For this comes from the Lord who is the Spirit.” (2 Corinthians 3:18)

You see, changed!  Transformed!  By beholding Him.

The Christian life is not about a bunch of truths, however valuable these truths may be.  The Christian life is about KNOWING JESUS.  He IS “the way, and the truth, and the life.” (John 14:6)  It’s possible to fill our heads with truths and never experience Him!  But oh, once you’ve experienced Him, how that changes everything!  Once these truths become embodied in the person of Jesus and you actually meet the Son of God- now you will never be the same again!

I trust that is your desire.  Yes, Lord, AMEN!  So be it!

“Beautiful, Jesus You Are” is on the album “Jesus On My Mind”.

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“Jesus On My Mind” is now on Spotify, iTunes, and Amazon.

Does anybody record “Concept Albums” anymore?  I do!  Forget the days of endless singles- sit back, relax, and worship.  My new album is just short of an hour and it’ll take you on a “Jesus Journey”!

Who has time for a Jesus journey? Nobody.  And that’s exactly the problem.  We don’t think we have the time for the one thing we need the most- just sitting at his feet, listening.  You remember the story about Martha and Mary?  Martha was so busy serving, rushing around, and attending to tasks that she lost out on the one thing that really mattered.  Jesus said that Mary “chose the better part” and that better part was just spending time with Him.

I few years back I felt that I was becoming more like Martha and less like Mary.  I started my Christian life totally on fire for Jesus.  I was so wrapped up in Him that He was the consuming desire of my life.  It was Jesus morning, noon and night- He literally was all I ever thought about!  It’s kind of sad when we lose that.  Yeah, I was still doing the “christian thing” but with a lot less Jesus.  Well, the truth is, there is no christian thing without Jesus!

Jesus was calling me back to sit at His feet.

It was around that time I started writing a lot of new songs about Him.   One of those was called “Jesus On My Mind”.  It became the obvious title for an album that was going to be all about Him.

This is my personal favorite of the albums I’ve done to date.  When I listen, I’m changed, because it refocuses me on Him and HE is what I need more than anything.

The 14 songs on “Jesus On My Mind” will refocus you on Him.  There are songs on the album that date all the way back to when I first got saved.  The last song, “Because Of Your Love” was written a couple weeks ago as I was finishing the album…

Many of the songs were written in the last year or so after an outpouring of the Holy Spirit that happened at our home group one evening.  I woke up the next morning worshipping and have been writing new music ever since!  All of the songs come out of my personal times with the Lord; not one was written “just to write a song”.

What I like most about this album is how it always seems to bring me into worship.  I love putting it in my MP3 player and going for a long walk.  The songs remind me who Jesus is and what He’s done for me- they open my heart and leave me feeling joyful and refreshed because they re-center me on Him!

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When my mother was diagnosed with Ovarian cancer in 2004 it was suggested many times that my life was on hold but eventually things would return to normal.  My wife and I lived only blocks away from my mom’s home, and my sister lived in the same town so we were all intimately involved in mom’s care.  My brother lived out of state, but the truth is, when something like this happens miles mean nothing- all of us were about to have our lives totally changed.  The actual diagnosis ended up being Primary Peritoneal cancer.  Ovarian cancer is bad enough, Primary Peritoneal cancer is worse.  Mom was given at the best about two years to live.  She went to be with the Lord just shy of two years in 2006.

I can’t begin to describe all that happened during those two years- the wonderful highs and horrible lows; the soaring hopes and dreams that Mom would be okay; the crushing reality when it didn’t turn out that way.  I could fill a book with the details.  Our lives were definitely changed, but had they been put on hold?

I can see why someone would think that-  Almost nothing about our lives remained the same, and to be honest, we would never really be the same again.  But were our lives on hold?

I don’t think so.

It wasn’t uncommon during those two very difficult years to be told by others that even though right now our lives were on hold, things would eventually go back to the way they were; life would once again be normal.

They meant well; but they couldn’t have been more wrong.

I remember thinking at the time, “My life is not on hold, this IS my life!”

Early on after mom’s diagnosis God showed me something- my life was not on hold.  This was actually a season in my life; not something that was an interruption of normal; not something that was some kind of pause before getting back to the way things were- this was my life!  This, right now; what I’m going through; what’s happening to my mother- this IS my life.

My life was not on hold.

Times and Seasons

“There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under heaven…” (Ecclesiastes 3:1)

There were a couple things that got me through the very tough times.

First, that God was sovereign.  From the beginning God gave me the scripture, “My times are in your hands”. (Psalm 31:15)

Very shortly after Mom was diagnosed I came across a sermon by Charles Spurgeon about God’s sovereignty.  It reinforced one of the great truths about God and life- we may not understand the things that happen in our life, but God is still in control; He is sovereign.

The second thing goes with the first:

“There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under heaven…” (Ecclesiastes 3:1)

In other words, “Your life is not on hold, this is your life!”

I’ll tell you why this helped me…

When faced with something really hard in life we can pretty much do two things- face it, or avoid it.  This verse showed me that I needed to face it and not try to avoid it.  My life was not on hold; I needed to hold unto life.  This was one of the many great life lessons I learned during that time.

In more detail this is what God showed me…

It doesn’t do any good to try to deny the season you’re in.  If you’re in the middle of winter with snow all around you, and you’re frozen blue, it will do you no good to pretend it’s summer!  Pretending is not going to make winter go away!  Pretending is not going to help with your frostbite!  You better get yourself a warm coat, some good gloves, and winter boots to keep your feet warm because winter’s not just going away!  It’s gonna be around for awhile.  Until the season changes this is your life!

Fighting the season; hating the season; will do nothing but make it worse.  It’s better to embrace the season and live in it the best you can.

Now, you could always move to Florida and try to avoid the bitter cold that the season of winter brings, but the season “up north” hasn’t changed a bit!  Everyone you know and love is still snowed in up there; the season’s not going away even if you try to run away.

Now I had purposed that I was not going to run away.  I didn’t want to look back on my life and have regrets that I wasn’t there for my Mom.

Yes, you can run away, but do you really want to?  Seasons pass and you will eventually get through, but how do you get past regret?  I don’t think you really want to run away.

Holding on to life instead of acting like my life was on hold was probably the most important thing that I did in those days.

Crying, “I want it to be Spring, I want it to be Spring!” was not going to make winter pass any faster.  That’s the thing about seasons- they have an appointed time, and they’re not going to change just because you don’t like them.

Fighting against the season you’re in will only wear you out; it will not change it, it will not make it any better.

God showed me that the best way to go through this season was to totally embrace it.  Since my life was not on hold, and this was simply the season I was in, I needed to embrace it and not fight it.

I’m not going to say it was easy; but it made it easier because I was not constantly fighting against what was.

Again, I could run away, but my Mom was still in that season.  I was not going to leave her alone in the winter of her life and pretend I was living in summer.

But as I end today, I also want to say that there is also beauty in every season.  The things I went through with my Mom’s illness were among the worst and most painful things I’ve ever experienced, but woven among those days were some of the most beautiful moments in my life.  Winter can be very harsh but it can also be very, very beautiful.  I thank God that I was able to be there with my Mom through that season.

“He has made everything beautiful in it’s time”. (Ecclesiastes 3:11)

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