Blessed Be Your Name

It's Mother's day. I'm standing in church amongst a thousand or so people, praising and worshipping our Creator. I am full of joy..... I just had a wonderful morning with my little family, I was standing next to the woman who is most near and dear to me, my Mama, and it was peaceful because Claire was in Sunday school (ha!).

The band begins to sing a favorite song of mine....

Blessed be Your name

In the land that is plentiful

Where Your streams of abundance flow

Blessed be Your name

I find my arms lifting in praise.

 

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

 

It's so easy for me to sing these lyrics. I have my precious baby boy sitting patiently in his carseat, in awe of the music and people around him. I have my wonderful husband standing next to me, with whom I'll celebrate seven years of blissful marriage soon. We have a beautiful house, two great jobs that provide us a comfortable living. The world indeed feels as it should.

 

Blessed be Your name

On the road marked with suffering

Though there's pain in the offering

Blessed be Your name

My closed eyes begin brimming with tears (very unlike me as I am typically not a cryer). I think about a friend who held a funeral service just the day before for her infant daughter. I consider the women standing and worshipping amongst me, who are battling infertility, recently experienced a miscarriage, had an adoption fall through.

You give and take away

You give and take away

My heart will choose to say

Lord, blessed be Your name

Continuing to cry, I think about the women and men, sons and daughters, amongst me who can't celebrate their mom, here on Earth, because she has passed away from cancer, or through another tragedy.  I think about a friend at work who lost his wife this past fall and his college and high-school aged daughters who are navigating their first Mother's day without their mom. 

Road marked with suffering.... pain in the offering...  You give and take away....

Truly, how easy it is to sing that song with a full heart when life is according to the earlier verse, when the sun is shining down on me.  What a test of faith it is to sing the same song when you find yourself on the road marked with suffering.  Mother's day is not an easy day for so many.  I feel like they too often go forgotten or unacknowledged. 

I pray that I never find myself singing those words with such a heavy heart that I wonder if I can sincerely say, "my heart will choose to say, Lord blessed be Your name". 

Those words were powerful to me after I experienced a miscarriage, after years of trying and the start of fertility treatments.  I truly did choose to bless the Lord's name.  But now life is GREAT.  My faith is stronger because of the experiences we endured.  But we don't know what tomorrow holds.  I don't know if the unimagineable might happen to my children.  I don't know if we'll find ourselves unemployed, or piecing together a broken marriage down the road. With all my heart though, I pray that I would be able to stand, arms raised, and praise the One who is there for us, suffering with us, carrying us, when the road is marked with pain.