You Raise Me Up

When I am down and, oh my soul, so weary;
When troubles come and my heart burdened be;
Then, I am still and wait here in the silence,
Until you come and sit awhile with me.

You raise me up, so I can stand on mountains;
You raise me up, to walk on stormy seas;
I am strong, when I am on your shoulders;
You raise me up... To more than I can be. Josh Groban

I have family and friends (odd way to say it because to me friends are family) whose stories are taking them into a valley season. I have one friend whose landscape seems to consist of upper and lower valleys exclusively these past few years while another brave soul told me, "You cannot understand what I am going through because I don't understand it myself."

We have lifelong friends whose family is in Japan and anxiety rises as the radiation level does. Friends with troubled children, with cancer, without a job, with elderly parents. We do not however have any family or friends without hope.

Rick Warren says it beautifully, "What gives me the most hope every day is God’s grace; knowing that his grace is going to give me the strength for whatever I face, knowing that nothing is a surprise to God."

Luke said it well also "What is the price of five sparrows—two copper coins? Yet God does not forget a single one of them. And the very hairs on your head are all numbered. So don’t be afraid; you are more valuable to God than a whole flock of sparrows" (12:6-7)

Two copper coins? The price Christ paid for us was breathtaking compared to the cost of sparrows. Over the years and through many valleys, that knowledge has quieted the fear in my heart because I realize that what held Him to the Cross is what is upholding me in this moment, love in its purest and most determined form.

When there was a need for comfort in the Garden of Olives, when friends could not watch with Him in His passion, God sent an angel to attend Jesus. Those Oliven Angels are still ministering to the Body of Christ.

Heaven loves us.

Morning is coming.

There is a path up and out of the valley.

There is a mountaintop in our future.

Our Father is a good catcher.

He will not let us fall.

I am strong when I am on your shoulders,

You raise me up!