We Hold These Truths... {slog edition}
(sigh) I’ve started three different posts this week, but none of them have felt ‘right.’ It’s as if my heart is having a hard time being silent enough to...hear.
Tuesday was especially noisy on the inside. I’d been battling a sense of personal inadequacies on several fronts and felt ready for the day to be done (!) when unexpected word came that Clem had passed away in the morning. A man of gentle wit, quiet intelligence and deep faith, Clem consistently went out of his way for others. He will be greatly missed.
It seems as though our congregation has had many hard goodbyes this past year. Rhonda. Janet. Jan. Martha. Clem. And many I didn’t personally know. Velma. Elayne. Individuals within our church’s homeless community. Others from an extended circle of family and friends. The fabric of our hearts feels frayed with each loss.
In times like this, my brain wants to churn out a complicated Theology of Sin, Suffering and Death, as if more words would make more sense.
My heart, though, needs to hear simple truths.
God loves us.
God is with us.
God is taking care of us.
And yes, we will experience pain in this life.
My temptation is to turn these into either/or statements. Either God loves us, OR, we'll experience loss. Either God is with us, OR, we'll go through hard times. Either God is taking care of us, OR, our journey will include suffering. How could *all* be true at the same time?
Faith, however, acknowledges another simple truth.
We don’t yet know the Full Story.
There is both hope ~ and humility ~ in this type of statement. It gently reminds us that there is a Story bigger than any one of us, a Story-in-Writing, and what we see here on earth is but one chapter. It’s the kind of truth that forces the others to sit side by side in unanswered tension. God is love, AND, there will be pain in this life.
Yvonne and I wrote the following song in acknowledgment of the Story we don’t yet fully know. One day, we will understand how all the pieces fit together. One day, all of our tears will be wiped away. Till then, we continue learning to rely on a Love that works in, through, and alongside the painful times of this earthly journey.
May the words of this song bring encouragement and strength to us all.
In His Grip,
Lisa
ALL GOD’S CHILDREN
Words and Music by Yvonne Utz and Lisa Venkatrathnam
Lead Vocals: Yvonne Utz
© 2009, All Rights Reserved.
Through the desert, over mountains
On a pathway marked with tears
All God’s children call to heaven
For a kingdom not yet here
God has heard your cries for freedom
He has seen your nights of pain
All God’s children, hear the promise
He will wipe your tears away
He will wipe your tears away
Weary children through the ages
Your oppression is not in vain
Your redeemer comes to save you
He will lead you home again
God has heard your cries for freedom
He has seen your nights of pain
All God’s children, hear the promise
He will wipe your tears away
He will wipe your tears away
.