Sing Your Song!

I wrote this on June 18^th, after attending the funeral of a friend, I didn’t write it to post, I wrote it because I just needed to write down my thoughts, but I just feel compelled to post it.

 

Today I was honored to be a part of a beautiful home-going celebration of an even more beautiful person.  I have known Charity her whole life, we lived on the same road for many years, went to the same church when we were children, had parents who were friends, had connections to lots and lots of the same people (this happens often in small towns) and went to the same school.  I was a couple of years older than her, but at a small school we all did everything together and everyone new everyone.  After high school we went our separate ways and would see each other occasionally, then she moved away and we hadn’t seen each other or talked to one another in a long time.  I kept up with her through some friends and family, and I prayed often for her when I heard she was diagnosed with cancer.  I tell you all this because I realized today that there is a great connection between children of God.  Although, we had not seen each other in a while, I loved her no less, I hurt for her parents, husband, and three children as if she were my best friend. Only God can give us this ability to love each other like this, and that is what I have been thinking about all evening---God’s love.  It is the most powerful thing we can have in us and the most powerful thing we can give away.  It is the one thing that you can give away and it will return, multiplied.  I have so many questions that I know I will never find the answers to while on this earth, but I can rest assured that no matter how many things I don’t understand, I do serve a God that understands it all and is working things out for our best interest.  I have thought of the words of Charity’s father, when he said to me, ‘we will understand it better by and by’ and thought how true and real those words are---in fact tonight I visualized meeting Jesus in Heaven and him explaining everything to me and then me thanking him for all the moments that I didn’t understand.  We do not know what the future holds, but we do know who holds that future.  Charity loved to sing, anyone that knew her at any point in her life knew that, and it was very fitting for the pastor to speak of Charity ‘singing her song’ with the way she lived her life.  Her song was Jesus and she showed him with everything she did.  We do all have a song to sing, but are we singing it?  My song is to write down the words that Jesus gives me and I want to sing it loud.  We will never know this side of Heaven how many lives Charity touched while here on this earth, but I do know my life was impacted greatly by knowing her.  While my heart continues to hurt for her precious family, I cannot think of her without smiling---mainly because she was so great at making everyone else smile!  

 The Lord is my strength and my shield;
    my heart trusts in him, and he helps me.
My heart leaps for joy,
    and with my song I praise him.

Psalm 28:7