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| Yup... Those are my brothers. |
I am blessed to have two brothers who know me very well, and
each gave me iTunes gift cards for Christmas (Jonny also gave me Rickle’s
Pickles, but I think they deserve a post all to themselves). I was a little
slow redeeming those cards, but after I started purchasing my music, I realized
that there is definitely a theme to the songs I purchased. The more I thought about
it, the more I realized that it is more than just a theme that runs through my
music, but it’s a theme that runs through my life: HOPE.
Most of my song choices are very deliberate (because, hey, I
only get gift cards every so often, so choose wisely), but there is one song
that I have been playing over and over and it was an accident that I even
bought it. “Be Still, O My Soul.” This is a well-known Bible verse (Ps. 62) and
a verse that I have used in my own reflection, but there is something about
this song that makes that verse come alive to me. The song adds a desperateness
that I don’t see in the text when I read it:
Praise the Lord, O my
soul
Though you're tired
and old
Be still and know He
is God
My soul often feels tired and old with the constant pressure
that life is putting on it. With so much going on in my life, do I find time to
be still and know He is God? Honestly,
no.
The song also reminds me why God is so awesome. I am a spec
in the scheme of the universe, and I am made from dirt, from dust. Yet, O as high as heaven from earth/ So great is
His love for those of the dirt/ He knows just what I am/ And I'm made up of
dust; my God, the one who reigns over heaven and earth, knows that I am
dirt, yet He loves so much that He wants us to come find peace in Him. This
gives me hope. Knowing that I am loved and that I always have a safe place to
land (when I remember it’s there) is something that I can only know in my soul.
Sometimes my head gets in the way of my soul, which is a shame because the soul
knows best.
The soul knows best because it is always connected with God.
One could argue that it is our soul that bears the fingerprint of God, that
image and likeness that is spoken of in Genesis. I sometimes forget that as
well. In order to keep my soul enliven it needs to be recharged and spend time
in the presence of its source of life: God. Whether it be in silent prayer,
Eucharistic Adoration, going to Mass, praying the rosary, faith sharing, etc. I
have to make time for that soul reboot and renewal.
When our spiritual life is oriented toward God, we are then
called to be more. Read any of the saints and they will tell you that spending
time with God is super important, but you have to share the fruit of that time,
namely love. This is where the song really resonates with me. It has a call to
action in the bridge and it ends proclaiming the hope and love of God, but also
issues a challenge to be love and hope in the world:
Go on and live like
you know you've been given
Forgiveness and
healing and love never-ending
Go on and love, go on
and love, go on and love
Go on and love
O, my soul
I believe the Holy Spirit works in my life daily, and most
of the time, I probably have no idea, but this time I heard the Spirit loud and
clear. God is beckoning to me to come to Him, to be still, and know Him. He
recognizes that my soul is tired and old and in need of renewal, otherwise, how
can I give love to others?
I suppose God just gave me resolution #3: Be still, and know I am God.
http://www.myspace.com/thecityharmonicmusic/music/songs/be-still-o-my-soul-84346057
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