Held
Jarid just returned from Montana. As he says, it was a trip “for all the wrong reasons.” He was there attending the memorial service of his best friend’s mom, Phyllis Kessler. This was a family he spent a lot of time with during his high school years, a family that had (has) a great impact on him in many ways. Definitely a shock to get this kind of news.
As soon as we received that phone call from Konrad on Monday morning, a slew of songs began streaming through my mind (as usual). But one song in particular kept coming back to me. It’s a song performed by Natalie Grant called “Held”.
“Two months is too little.
They let him go.
They had no sudden healing.
To think that providence would take a child from his mother while she prays is appalling.”
Who told us we’d be rescued?
What has changed and why should we be saved from nightmares?
We’re asking why this happens to us who have died to live.
It’s unfair.
Chorus:
This is what it means to be held.
How it feels when the sacred is torn from your life and you survive.
This is what it is to be loved, and to know that the promise was when everything fell we’d be held.
This hand is bitterness.
We want to taste it, let the hatred know our sorrows.
The wise hands opens slowly to lilies of the valley and tomorrow.
(Chorus)
This is what it means to be held.
How it feels when the sacred is torn from your life and you survive.
This is what it is to be loved, and to know that the promise was when everything fell we’d be held.
Bridge:
If hope is born of suffering, if this is only the beginning,
Can we not wait for one hour watching for our Savior?“
Click here to watch/listen.
As I read the obituary and the guest book comments, and listened to Jarid talk about spending time with the Kesslers growing up, and then to him describe the memorial service, another song popped into my head. One of my favorite songs, with words I can only pray to achieve, is “Legacy” performed by Nichole Nordeman.
“I want to leave a legacy.
How will they remember me?
Did I choose to love?
Did I point to You enough to make a mark on things?
I want to leave an offering,
A child of mercy and grace who blessed Your name unapologetically,
and leave that kind of legacy.”
I’m sure if you talk to any person who knew this dear woman, they would whole-heartedly agree that Phyllis has left a Legacy. She has most definitely heard “Well done, good and faithful one!” in the presence of Jesus.
The Responsibility of Prayer
in Jarid’s words…
In the past couple of years, I have nearly lost my father on two separate occasions due to motorcycle accidents. You never really know how you will react when that kind of thing happens. I had the opportunity to test myself twice in the area of family tragedy. It was interesting to learn the dynamics of that situation. I can’t really share any wisdom with you, because it will not be the same for you. For me, my role was emotional stability. I realized quickly that my father needed me, my mother needed me, and my sister needed me. They all relied on me in different ways, but my gift was in being the stability that was needed by my family at the time. My role was not more or less important than those that were filled by other family members. Instead, God seemed to orchestrate every facial expression and every spoken word. Every minute detail was in His control. Without faith, it would be easy to see how emotions could completely destroy a family under similar circumstances.
Now I find myself in what is even a more difficult situation. My best friend was put in an impossible position when his mother tragically died last weekend. I don’t know how to comfort him. I don’t think there are words that could possibly help. To some extent, I wish it was me in this position instead of him. I felt a sense of duty when it was my father on a hospital bed. I felt completely comforted and assured by the prayers of those around me. I only hope that he is feeling the presence of God the way that I did. Today, I realize my responsibility in this event. It’s a responsibility that seems too easy. Yet, I find it more difficult to fulfill this responsibility. It’s my duty to pray.
When it was me going through a difficult time, I know that he was in prayer for my whole family. I know that he prayed for us individually, by name, and for specific reasons. Now I must not overlook something as simple as this in return. So I pray; individually, by name, and for specific reasons. I pray that he sees God in every facial expression, and in every spoken word. I pray that he will be able to look back on these days and comment on how God seemed to orchestrate every moment. I know that this day was in God’s plan, and that today his mother is intimately familiar with the loving arms of Jesus. This family made an eternal impact on me, and even the rest of my family. This family forever affected the way that I live and love my wife and my children. I pray that they take comfort as this phrase echoes in heaven; “Well done, my good and faithful servant.”
