It’s funny how great and how horrible you can feel at the very same time.
I’ve noticed that irony every time I go through something difficult. At the same time you can be experiencing something so hard you think your heart is going to explode with sadness, you can experience a joy and comfort and love so intense you can hardly keep yourself from shouting out to God!
I love how God does this for his people. How He offers the same level of comfort to match the level of dispair you are feeling.
As we celebrated the lives of my cousins during their funeral yesterday, I was so struck by the mixture of pain and joy. As a congregation, we sang several songs focused on heaven and God’s promises. How amazing to be able to worship the God who feels our pain with us and is loving us through it during the time we are grieving and sad and angry and falling apart.
As we sang “Blessed Be the Name of the Lord” together, I was struck by the power of the song:
Blessed be your name
In the land that is plentiful
Where the streams of abundance flow
Blessed be your name
Blessed be your name
When I’m found in the desert place
Though I walk through the wilderness
Blessed be your name
Every blessing you pour out,
I turn back to praise
When the darkness closes in, Lord
Still I will say…
Blessed be the name of the Lord
Blessed be your name
Blessed be the name of the Lord
Blessed be your glorious name
Blessed be your name
When the sun’s shining down on me
When the world’s all as it should be
Blessed be your name
Blessed be your name
On the road marked with suffering
Though there’s pain in the offering
Blessed be your name
Every blessing you pour out,
I turn back to praise
When the darkness closes in, Lord
Still I will say…
Blessed be the name of the Lord
Blessed be your name
Blessed be the name of the Lord
Blessed be your glorious name
You give and take away
You give and take away
My heart will choose to say
Lord, Blessed be your name
Though we’ll all have times in our lives when we are walking through the desert and the darkness is closing in…we can praise God…because He is so good. No matter what we are going through, God’s goodness is just so, so good.
Thank you all so much for your prayers, love and encouragement during this difficult time for my family. The most wonderful part of this awful tragedy was how our family was all brought together. It was an incredible blessing to be surrounded by so many of the people we love.
And although God chose to take Gary and Kim from us now..we bless His name. He is so good.
What a fitting song to have at that time too. I love when a song speaks so accurately and my heart bears witness to it.
May God continue to be near to you in a tangible way. Tiffany
Thank you so much for testifying of God’s provision and grace!
What an encouragement, to know what your family is going through, yet there is praise on your lips!
Bless His name!
We will continue to pray for your family.
It was so wonderful to be around so much family, and I’m looking forward to the hamm bash even more now.
I was floored when we started singing the first song…there were SOOO many voices that I heard, and they were all there because they love our family.
I also love the song Blessed be the Name, but I certainly think about it differently now. It means so much more.
Glad your back! I don’t think I’ve ever heard that song before, but the words are beautiful.
Ditto to Marie – so glad you are home! So glad you were able to go!
And now I need to go find that song online, because I don’t think I’ve ever heard it, or I’m just not recognizing it.
Well said, sister-friend. :) I am home now today…with a kiddo who did an amazing job of making it through a dental sedation surgury today. (yes…all the junk in one week)
Even when we were at the site…digging precious things like shaving cream out of the trees…it was horrific and joyful at the same time.
You will never know the full value of you being there with me. I know it was a hard choice to make…I’m cringing a little thinking about Neal’s missed days at work too. But I know the value of us all being there could never ever be printed on a check.
Thank you being there. 100 million time over.
I love you.
I agree… As difficult as it was to be there, it was comforting to be surrounded by those we love and to share the happy memories.
That song was played at the memorial for a friend of ours last summer. I’ll never be the same when I hear it.
My mom passed away about 4 years ago, around the time this song came out. I couldn’t sing it without crying. Partly because of grief, but because I knew that she was worshipping in the ultimate worship service. It was months before I could get through a worship service without crying. I posted about her on my blog. around the end of march.
Oh I meant to add that I agreed with how you can feel wonderful and sad at the same time. My mom was in florida visiting her sisters and mom at the time she passed away and so my dad and sister and I flew there. We spent the first three days in the hospital and after she passed away went to my grandmas. There were lots of times of laughter, soaking in and by the pool and I went and got my haircut. I at times felt guilty but then realized that my mom would not want us sitting around moping but to celebrate her life and move on.