Monday, November 23, 2009

Monday's Mourning Ministry - Only Hope




Monday's Mourning Ministry


Only Hope




For your Monday's Mourning Ministry, I found this wonderful song again, this time on video. The story behind the song I have already shared in a post here on my blog on February 24th of this year. (If you want to read the entire post, I have noted it at the bottom of this post.) But today I really wanted you to know the story behind the song so that you would know just how special the song is for me. It means so much to me, I hope you will indulge me to repeat excerpts of the post here! I hope you will enjoy the song too!


******



Merry Katherine gave me another Valentines Day present this year. I stumbled across a C.D. she had made. She knows my heart, and she knows just what I need to calm a large part of this aching mother’s heart.

One of my big fears for her before she was killed on 8/2/06 (besides the obvious safety issue of a child with her high-energy, high-risk behavior) was that she would wander so far away from God in her acting-out that, without realizing it, her heart would harden more and more until she wouldn’t turn back to Him. (Her heart was already icing up somewhat toward us, her parents; she seemed to be living so many lies that I think she was starting to believe some of them.) Sin itself is destructive and alienating; it blinds you to God’s truth that could save you from its ultimate destruction. I could see her heart getting more and more hardened, and she was becoming more and more brazen in pursuing what she wanted despite its destructiveness.

So when she was killed in the midst of her estrangement, as a mother my next biggest question was, "Where is she now? Is she okay?" which means,



Is she in Heaven with God?



There are many questions rolling around in my mind of course—you go over and over the “what if’s” and the “why’s” all the time, but the “safety and security of her soul now” has been the most agonizing question for me.



So finding this cd on the 10th of February was a delight for me, to see where her heart was with God—she hadn’t totally tuned Him out; she was struggling with needing Him, yet not obeying Him, while still recognizing His provision for her . . . which she recognized was her
“Only Hope.”



As soon as I heard this song, I knew she had wanted me to find this C.D., and how precious that it was in time for Valentines Day-- (Just like she managed to do last year! But that story will be for another time!)




What a sweet Valentines gift for her mommy!



A gift that met me in the crux of my heart's cry for her.



An answer to her mommy's prayer...



Here are the lyrics of "Only Hope," just one of the songs that was on Merry Katherine's home-made C.D. that showed this grieving mother what was really in her heart toward her sweet Savior and Shepherd:







My Only Hope

Caedmon’s Call

(Found 2/10/09 on a cd Merry Katherine had made for herself)



Depth of mercy, can there be
Mercy still reserved for me?
Can, my God, Your wrath forbear—
Me, the chief of sinners, spare?

It's my only hope,
You're my only hope!
It's my only hope of Heaven—
At the cross forgiven!

I have long withstood Your grace,
Long provoked you to Your face,
Would not harken to Your calls,
Grieved You by a thousand falls,

It's my only hope,
You're my only hope!
It's my only hope of Heaven—
At the cross forgiven!

There for me the Savior stands,
Shows his wounds and spreads His hands,
Face to face before the Son
And like Isaiah I'm undone . . .

Depth of mercy, vast and free,
So much deeper than the sea,
God of love, You heard my cry,
Now into Your open arms I fly!

It's my only hope,
You're my only hope!
It's my only hope of Heaven—
At the cross forgiven!



Jesus was her "Only Hope" of Heaven (just as He is my only hope of Heaven). With Him in her heart and crying out such songs to Him, I know my precious baby is now safely nestled in her Heavenly Father’s arms where I’ll someday see her again. Thank You, Lord Jesus, for such a precious Valentines Day gift, sweeter than anyone could ever give to me!










Exerpts from my blog post of February 24, 2009

Merry Katherine’s Valentines Day Present For Me, 2009

TwitThis

No comments:

Post a Comment