Good morning…
A longtime friend sent me a moving music video, and I asked if I might share it with our online community.
Her permission came with this reply: “Please share! It reminds me of the group of moms who would walk the Lovett School grounds and fervently pray for every inch of that place – every person, athletic field, classroom, lunch room, etc. It was very powerful to me then. The needs of our city are enormous now but NOTHING is too big for HIM. LOVE YOU.”
Her memory spurred my memory. Several months back, I privately did a prayer walk through an impoverished part of town. I prayed for nurturing mentors to rise up from within the dilapidated houses, the boarded up buildings, and the small quiet church on the crowded corner. I prayed for God’s love to be seen, to be felt, to be noticed in the everydayness of this needy neighborhood. I prayed for the Holy Spirit to draw to the area the helpers that would be God’s hands, God’s voice, God’s presence to all people.
As I step-by-stepped through my walk, I looked down and noticed a folded up note stuck in the gutter, dropped, lost, left. I picked up the weathered piece of paper, tucked it safely in my pocket, and kept praying along my way. Returning home, I looked more closely at the tattered treasure. “To someone I love so much. I love you G-ma. Love you so much,” said the words on the outside of the neatly folded, torn up note. Gently unfolding it, my heart was touched as I barely made out the following words inside, kind words scribbled in a child’s handwriting.
“My song. This is why this is why, this is why I love you. Ohhh this is why I love you because you loved me Ohh you loved me. When I was down you helped me up. When I was crying you comd me down. So this is why I loved you because you loved me. I love you for what you did for me. I love you for what you did for me. So yeah that’s why I love you but that’s not all G-ma. You wass the best ever so that’s why. To some one I love so much, G-ma.”
Needing help up when we get down is a very real part of daily life. Whatever neighborhood lives around us, we sometimes need someone to calm us down, to wipe away our tears. We learn to love by being loved. We love others because we were first loved by a G-ma or by a momma, by a father or by a friend, by a meaningful mentor and, most of all, by our compassionate Creator. We love each other because he loved us first (1 John 4:19, NLT).
God is love. When we take up permanent residence in a life of love, we live in God and God lives in us. This way, love has the run of the house, becomes at home and mature in us (1 John 4:18a, MSG).
Enjoy this music video as we bask in the enduring Voice of love sung over our city, our nation, our world.
…Sue…
P.S. Free photo courtesy of Unsplash.com.
