It Is Well
Oh baby baby how was I supposed to know…
Let’s hear it for the boy. Let’s here it for my baby...
If you say go, we will go. If you say wait, we will wait…
To break every chain, break every chain, break every chain…
Maybe you were transported back to your youth for the first two; however, if your pre-teen/teen crush was Justin Bieber instead of Jonathan Taylor Thomas, you may have no idea what those songs are.
Music-evoked autobiographical memories refer to the recollection of experiences or past events that are triggered when you hear specific music.
Each of these songs sends me flying to the 2000s and before.
My bedroom on South Marion before dad remodeled.
My trampoline, a toy microphone, and a twisted ankle.
Falls Creek. Thursday night. Struggle. Surrender.
My living room. The darkest night of my life. The most Holy Spirit-power-filled night of my life.
If you’re holding onto some of those burnt CDs you created from Kazaa in the 2000s, for funsies…go have a listen and see what joyous, disastrous, wonderful, and heartbreaking memories pop up. Or don’t. Maybe it’s best to leave them there.
As I was standing in church this past Sunday, some music-evoked autobiographical memories kicked in as It Is Well filled the room taking me straight back to a frail, struck-down, faith hanging by a thread, type of me. The metal folding chair, the hard floor under my knees, the hand on my back. Kari Jobe. Christine Caine. You’ve been here long enough…it’s time to move from this mountain. Tidal wave level of forgiveness rushing over me.
Listening to that song reminded me not only of a time that forever redefined who I was and how I think, but it also brought with it mass amounts of gratitude.
Grateful for restoration. Grateful for blessings. Grateful for the years of distance between that moment and now. Grateful for love. And mostly, grateful for the extra reminder that even in the midst of a life that seems to be shattering around me, God is still on His throne and my hope is in Him and Him alone.
Horatio Spafford, from my stellar google research, was an attorney and real estate investor. He lost his fortune in a fire and his son to Scarlett fever. He sent his wife and four daughters on a ship, as he thought a vacation might be good for them after all the loss. While on its voyage the ship sank and Horatio lost his four daughters. After receiving news that his wife was still alive, he set sail to her and on his way he wrote the lyrics to It Is Well.
Pastor Jordan at Faith Church Hinton did a phenomenal job preaching on hope this past weekend. It was a beautiful reminder of God’s goodness as I was still all up in my music-evoked autobiographical memories party/not-party reminiscing the darkest year of my life.
There will be storms. There will be struggle. There will be days you will have no idea how you’re going to make it through the next few moments, hour, day, etc. without falling to pieces, but rest assured there is a God who is there in the midst of it all.
Even when you feel abandoned, unwanted, or alone, hold onto hope.
And just know that I’m over here praying for you. That you will hold onto hope long enough that you will be able to look back years later and see the journey from that darkness as a testament that God is who He says He is and will do what He says He’ll do.
Bye friends. :-)
