We recently heard the
sad news about the passing of another musical great, Leonard Cohen. Some members of
our family were hanging out together, watching hockey and discussing music when we discovered the news (because hockey and music just go hand in
hand?! … but it was a cool time together as a family!) My husband was a little surprised that our 22
year old son knew more about the life and music of Leonard Cohen than he did.
Enter Spotify. Obviously our kids are much more savvy about Spotify
than us oldies. My husband and I are now
Spotify rookies. We download apps like
this and our kids roll their eyes. I
have been told by at least one of my sons that “You don’t need to be on
SnapChat”. I think he’s probably right,
and I’m perfectly happy not snapping, snapchatting, or whatever you call it.
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So my husband and I started
to “Spotify”, searching for albums and music, highlighting some of our
favourites and creating playlists, with the likes of Carly Simon, Bob Dylan, some
newly found Leonard Cohen, and Chicago.
This list goes on and on, as our musical tastes are quite eclectic. My husband never realized that I was a fan of
Chicago’s music, and as we played the album “Chicago 17” the other morning, I
found I still remembered most of the words to the songs.
The year that “Chicago
17” was popular, I was a student at Winkler Bible Institute and had a certain
boyfriend (which didn’t work out, thank you, Lord!), and the songs on that album
evoked memories of college life and the relational anxiety of a 19 or 20 year
old.
Thank goodness we
don’t stay mired in the angst of youth, but we do grow up and mature (at least
most of us do! 😉). 32 years later and I know I have aged, and
hope I have matured! My sons are now 18,
20, 22 and 24 and I have been married to my husband for 27 years.
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| The Boys - 1998 |
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| The Boys - 2015 |
When I was younger, I certainly imagined myself married and with children, but never factored in what it might be like living with a husband under the weight of major depression. It has certainly been a learning and growth experience. I’d like to think I’m a stronger person than I ever thought I was or even could be.
I would hope I am not the person I was in that dorm room back in Bible School those many years ago. I would hope that I have developed into a better version of me. Real life has a way of
happening and God has used many situations and circumstances to change my heart
and mind and hopefully shape me into a daughter He is pleased with.
A blogger I follow has
written the phrase “He moves how He moves, and He saves how He saves.” He, God, has moved me … from being a meek
follower (in my estimation) to a quiet prayer warrior. His ways are not always my ways … and I think
that’s probably a good thing for me.
"Lord, Move how You move, and save how You save." This has become a
prayer of mine lately, especially when I’m at a loss for how to pray. He knows. His will be done, not mine.
I was using my new
Spotify app on my phone and listening to an album by Nichole Nordeman, “The Unmaking”. The words to one of the songs, “Something Out of Me”, jumped out and
caught my attention:
You take all kinds of nothing
Turn it right in to something
I see impossible, but You see a basket full of
“A little bit of this sounds crazy”,
“A little bit of just maybe”
You take every doubt and
You make something out of me
Something out of me
I don’t for one minute
believe that I am the final product of who God wants me to be. I am so incredibly flawed; there are so many
blemishes and imperfections that need work.
But somehow, as the words in the song say, “You take all kinds of
nothing, Turn it into something”.
My prayer is that He
would move how He moves, save how He saves, and I would continue being shaped into
who God wants me to be.
Hebrews 12:1-2Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a huge crowd of witnesses to the life of faith, let us strip off every weight that slows us down, especially the sin that so easily trips us up. And let us run with endurance the race God has set before us. We do this by keeping our eyes on Jesus, the champion who initiates and perfects our faith.
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