As I was looking over older posts, I realized that I haven’t been explaining Sunday Song every week. Oops! If you’re new to my blog, Sunday Song might seem a little confusing to you without an explanation, so here ya go!
I wanted to do a post (every week) about a song I love. Because I’m so busy with school and homework throughout the week, I have a hard time posting consistently. Obviously, I have a lot more time on the weekends. And just so you know, I’ll admit right now that I’m a sucker for weekly posts that go with the first letter of the day. For example, BigMama’s Fashion Friday. I knew I wanted to post the songs on Saturday or Sunday (duh..S__ S__), but I didn’t know what other S word to use. I wanted to be creative, but had no other idea besides Sunday Song, so I just went with it! Here I am two months later, still doing it! Yay for commitment.
Yup, I just cheered for myself. Please ignore it and move on, as I’ve already wasted three minutes of your day and we haven’t even gotten to this weeks song. :)
P.S. If you think of a better name then Sunday Song, let me know! I’m totally open to suggestions.
***
I have the feeling that not many people know who Laura Story is. But I bet you know one or two of her songs! She wrote (part of) Mighty To Save as well as Indescribable (which she wrote by herself). Yep, the Indescribable song that Chris Tomlin sings. He’s famous for it, she’s not. But she’s a great writer and singer! You should definitely check her CD* out. All the songs on it are good!
*It’s called Great God Who Saves
Anywho, I’ve been listening to this song all week. It helped me when things fell apart months ago, and it’s a great reminder for the day-to-day worries, as well as the bigger things that we face in life.
Bless The Lord by Laura Story
You give and take away for my good
For who am I to say what I need?
For You alone see the hidden parts of me
That need to be stripped away.
And as You begin to refine
I’m learning to let go and rely
On One who walks with me
As hard as it may be
You’re teaching me all the while to say
Bless the Lord O my soul
All that’s in me bless Your name
Forget not Your power un-told
Not Your glory or Your fame
For You came to heal the broken
To redeem and make me whole
Bless the Lord O my soul.
***
You give and take away for my good For who am I to say what I need?
Sometimes it’s not so easy to believe, right? Or am I alone in that… I mean, don’t get me wrong, I know He knows best. And, because of that, He knows what I ultimately need. But when that doesn’t match up with what I want, it gets a little messy and complicated. Over time I’ve learned to want what He wants for me, whatever that may be. Apparently, it means not having certain people as close friends, much less just friends. But that doesn’t mean I don’t want them back. Because I do. Even though I know it may not be what He wants. *Sigh*
I think I just contradicted myself.
For You alone see the hidden parts of me that need to be stripped away.
With all that has happened, He was able to strip away many layers that I previously had. I’m guilty of the Mask Game. Have you heard of it? I bet you’ve played it. Here’s how it goes:
Situation One-You have a horrible day. Things go wrong at work, with the kids, with a friend, etc. Or maybe even all of the above. You see people you know and you put on a smile, even though you’re not in a good mood. When they say, “Hey, how are you?”…You immediately respond, “I’m fine, how are you?”
Situation Two-You’ve had a great day. Things at home went well, for the most part, you got a lot accomplished at work, and you had an awesome talk/date with your spouse the other night, etc. You meet a friend for coffee and find out they’ve had a horrible week. You hide your happiness and choose not to share about your great week, because you don’t want to make your friend feel even worse.
Situation Three-You show up to church/Bible Study after having a fight with your spouse. You arrived to church late because the kids wouldn’t cooperate and get in the car. No one had breakfast, you’re wearing dirty clothes, and you didn’t read the material for today’s lesson. But when you go around the circle telling about your week, you leave all that out and instead just smile and say, “It’s been pretty boring at my house this week. Nothing interesting to share, really.”
Situation Four-You lost your best friend two days ago. You know you’ll see her at church and you paste a smile on your face so you won’t appear devastated. But on the inside, your heart is shattering into even more pieces as you see her walk in and flat out ignore you. You can’t hang out with your old group of friends, because they pick her over you, so instead you smile on your way to the bathroom, where you break down and cry. Before you go back in, you check your face in the mirror, smile at yourself until you know you’ll convince them all, walk out smiling a fake smile, and continue to pretend it’s all okay (though your world feels like it has ended).
Sound familiar? I call it the Mask Game. I played it for so long. I still play it sometimes, actually. It’s a horrible truth, but I believe that one of the most dangerous places to be after having a bad week is church.
I know, I know. I probably shouldn’t say that.
I mean, seriously, think about it. When you’re having a bad day, do you really want to go see your friends at church, knowing you’ll have to smile and tell them, “I’m good, how are you?” because that’s what they expect to hear? That’s not what I want to do. At all.
Don’t get me wrong, I like my church. I’ve gone there since before I was born. I know so many people there. But see, that’s part of the problem. They know me as the happy, smiling girl. They expect me to say, “I’m doing well, how have you been?”
You don’t believe me? I’ll give you an example: A few months ago, I was having a bad week. A friend asked me how I was, and I said, “Not too good, actually.” They just stared at me and finally looked away, while saying, “Oh.”
It’s like church has become a place where happy, whole-hearted, joyful people go. And that is not what it’s supposed to be! Sure, there are days where I feel that way. There are people who, in general, are joyful and whole-hearted people. But for the majority, that is not the case. So why do we pretend to be something we’re not?
Okay, I’ll get off my little soap box. Wow, I didn’t mean to go on a rant like that. Oops. :)
Anyways, He’s helped me strip away some of those masks I used to wear. I admit, I put them back on from time to time. It’s getting better, though.
And as You begin to refine
I’m learning to let go and rely
On One who walks with me
As hard as it may be
You’re teaching me all the while to say
He has taught me to let go and rely on Him. It’s not easy. Typing the words is easy, but living it out? Oh man, that’s another story. It’s HARD to praise God when I’m in a storm. It’s even harder to thank Him FOR the storm. But we are called to, and He has brought me to a place where I can. It’s been a long journey to that place though, let me tell you.
There are days where I don’t want to bless Him. But when it comes down to it, He has done SOOOO much for me that I’ll never deserve or be able to repay. I owe Him everything. He gave me those friends, and He took them away. So be it. I want Him to be praised. I’m longing for Him to get glory from it all. Seriously, if He doesn’t get glory from it, I probably won’t feel like it was worth the pain.
Wrong or not, I don’t know. But it’s how I feel.
Bless the Lord O my soul
All that’s in me bless Your name
Forget not Your power un-told
Not Your glory or Your fame
For You came to heal the broken
To redeem and make me whole
Bless the Lord O my soul.
He heals the broken. He can heal me; He can heal you. Whatever you’re going through, just ask Him to heal and redeem you. He can and He will. Just watch and see. Don’t forget to praise Him through the process, though. I know, it’s easier said than done. But we can all at least try.
What do you have a hard time thanking and/or blessing God for?
