Many years ago, I was driving here to work and this song came on the radio. It touched my soul so much that I had to pull into a parking lot to listen. The song is by Laura Story and is called “Blessings”. Her husband had been diagnosed with brain cancer in the first couple of years during their marriage. She wrote this song years later as a response to her own questioning of her faith in God after she had been caregiving for her husband for around 5 years. Their lives were not what they thought they would be, and she was having problems dealing with caring for her husband, young family, and herself.
I had not heard or thought or this song for serval years but last week it started to play inside my head and heart. During this time, our lives are not what we would have ever thought or wanted. Many of us are struggling in a variety of ways, from loneliness, to not being able to have a minute to ourselves. We are grieving for our lives the way they were. Sometimes we pray and wonder if we are being heard.
While I do not believe that God sent COVID to teach people a lesson I do believe that God can work through this mess to bless us. I also believe that if we look carefully, we can see that God has indeed blessed us during this time. All of us have had to reevaluate our priorities and learn to adapt to new realities and that can be a good thing. Last week when I went shopping, I was thrilled to be able to buy flour. I had not even seen any in the store for weeks. I even texted my husband Jeff a celebration emoji. While I was checking out and the clerk asked how I was doing; I said how happy I was over being able to get flour. We chatted about how different things are now how simple things like being able to get flour can make us happy. We need to be able to notice all the small blessings everyday that God have given to us. We need to be able to look past our circumstances and see how God is working though them to bless us and others. Sometimes God’s mercies are in disguise.
Blessings
Laura Story
We pray for blessings
We pray for peace
Comfort for family, protection while we sleep
We pray for healing, for prosperity
We pray for Your mighty hand to ease our suffering
All the while, You hear each spoken need
Yet love is way too much to give us lesser things
‘Cause what if your blessings come through raindrops
What if Your healing comes through tears
What if a thousand sleepless nights are what it takes to know You’re near
What if trials of this life are Your mercies in disguise
We pray for wisdom
Your voice to hear
We cry in anger when we cannot feel You near
We doubt your goodness, we doubt your love
As if every promise from Your Word is not enough
All the while, You hear each desperate plea
And long that we’d have faith to believe
When friends betray us
When darkness seems to win
We know that pain reminds this heart
That this is not our home
What if my greatest disappointments
Or the aching of this life
Is the revealing of a greater thirst this world can’t satisfy
What if trials of this life
The rain, the storms, the hardest nights
Are your mercies in disguise
Source: LyricFind
Songwriters: Laura Story
Blessings lyrics © Capitol Christian Music Group
Gracious and Loving God, I pray that we can recognize the blessings that you give us every day. That you can open our hearts to also see the blessings that are in disguise in our lives. May we use this time to get closer to you and closer to those that we are blessed to have in our lives. Be with us when we struggle and with those who are struggling know. Help us to be able to do your will doing this time. Be with those who are working on the front lines in so many ways to help others. Open our hearts to feel your peace that passes all understanding. Amen
Grace & Peace, Suzanne