Sunday, July 2, 2017

*~ this I know ~*

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 

The truth is, there is a lot I don’t know.
  

I don’t know how to make homemade bread.
Or how to always tell the plants apart from the weeds.

I don’t know how to change the oil in my car.
Or how to get that pesky stain out of my husband’s shirt.

I don’t know how to fly a plane.
Or how to paint anything resembling art.

I don’t know much about the legal system.
Or how to understand the game of football.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -  

I don’t know why one person will receive a miraculous healing
yet another still daily battles their sickness.

I don’t know why one of my friends gave birth to a beautiful baby, 
while another is enduring the heartbreak of a miscarriage.

I don’t know why there are women who get pregnant easily
and others who are desperate for the babies they’re unable to conceive.

I don’t know why some people get to walk out of the hospital
and others spend their final days surrounded by those sterile walls.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -  

I don’t know how Jonah felt when he was stuck in the whale’s stomach.
Or how Joseph felt when he again saw the brothers who’d betrayed him years ago.

I don’t know how Ruth felt when she was traveling into the unknown beside Naomi.
Or how Esther felt about being raised up “for such a time as this”.

I don’t know how Paul felt each time he was beaten for the cause of Christ.
Or how Judas could betray the One Who called him Friend.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -  

I don’t know why you’re still hurting.
Or why your heartbreak hasn’t been healed.

I don’t know why your marriage fell apart.
Or why your child no longer speaks to you.

I don’t know why your friends turned their backs on you.
Or why it feels like the whole world is against you.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -  

See? I told you there’s a lot I don’t know.

But the reason I'm writing this post
is to tell you about one thing I do know.
It's a Truth I learned as a child.
I cling to it when my world feels chaotic.
I hold onto it when I just don't understand.
I learned it as a children’s song.
*There's a really good chance that you did too.*
But I think on our journey of growing up,
the "children's song" label became a hindrance,
causing us to forget that the Truth of it
is for us as adults too.

And in pondering the intricacies 
and solving the mysteries;
discussing the theology 
and studying the validity
we lose sight of the beauty
found in its simplicity:

Jesus loves me this I know,
for the Bible tells me so.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -  

Because of that Truth, I have a choice.
Because of that Truth, so do you...


We can choose trust over doubt,
and faith over worry.
Choose to believe in His plans
even when they don’t make sense.

We can choose to be okay with the I-don’t-know’s
because we know the One Who always knows.
We can choose to be at peace in every situation,
trusting that our God is good, all the time.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 


This I know,
Jesus. Loves. Me.
&
This I know, Friends -
 Jesus. Loves. You. <3