This week, I've started meditating on a psalm a day. As indicated in a much earlier post, I've noticed that verses are so often taken out of context. And as I've been reading and studying Scripture, I'm seeing this more and more. Yesterday was no exception. The psalm I was reading, brought to mind a song I learned in college (if not before). It's a song I liked, and the second verse even expressed the desire of my heart...
"Here Am I"
Ask of Me and I will give you nations,
As an inheritance for you;
As an inheritance for you My children.
Ask of Me and I will give you nations,
As an inheritance for you. Ask of Me.
Here am I, Send me to the nations,
As an ambassador for You.
As an ambassador for You, my Father.
Here am I, Send me to the nations,
As an ambassador for You, Here am I.
As I was looking for the lyrics to that song this morning, I stumbled upon the lyrics to another song I've really liked for quite some time:
"You Said"
You said, ask and you will receive whatever you need
You said, Pray and I'll hear from heaven
and I'll heal your land."
You said Your glory will fill the earth
Like water, the seas.
You said, Lift up your eyes
the harvest is here, the kingdom is near.
You said, Ask and I'll give the nations to you
Oh Lord, that's the cry of my heart.
Distant shores and the islands will see
Your light as it rises on us.
O Lord, we ask for the nations
Great songs, right? I thought they were pretty good (and much of the songs are good), and I've often sung them out of the depths of my heart to the Lord. And then yesterday, I read Psalm 2, and was hit with the reality of how a significant portion of each song has been taken out of context. Notice verses 7-9:
I will tell of the decree:
The LORD said to me, "You are my Son;
today I have begotten you
Ask of me, and I will make the nations your heritage,
and the ends of the earth your possession.
You shall break them with a rod of iron
and dash them in pieces like a
potter's vessel."
What??? Did I read that right??? I read Psalm 2 over and over again yesterday. And I looked at the cross references to see if there is another verse that said to ask for the nations as our inheritance, but with a much "happier" context...a context that actually agreed with the lyrics to the 2 songs. I didn't see anything referenced. I must admit, I'm a little sad about this revelation that the songs are so off at some points. I've liked the songs for years. And now, I'm just realizing that the actual passage in Scripture is saying that Jesus (not us) would be given the nations as an inheritance in order to basically crush them. This actually makes sense in light of the first few verses of the psalm, since it talks about nations raging and plotting against the Lord and His people. And then it concludes with warning the kings and rulers to be wise and to serve the Lord with fear. The message of that verse is so obvious when you look at the rest of the psalm (which is only 12 short verses).
What baffles my mind with this is how that verse was taken so out of context and twisted for not just one, but at least two songs. And it breaks my heart. No, Psalm 2 is not a happy-feel-good type of psalm, but there is beauty in it. The psalm points to the majesty, power, and might of the Lord. It points to the fact that He will have the ultimate victory, that He is vastly superior to all, and that He is a refuge. There is such beauty here, even if it isn't shown in the most comfortable way. So, why did that verse have to be taken out of context and twisted? I don't get it. But I'm challenged, again, to pay more attention to the lyrics of the songs I'm singing and the words of the teachings I'm reading and/or hearing...to make sure they align with Scripture. And in order to do that, I need to continually grow in learning God's Word.
Obviously, blogging is still not a very high priority in my life right now. The reason? I have a precious little girl who takes a much higher priority. So...what's happened over the past 4 1/2 months? Here is a little summary...
May
Bekah met her Grandpa and Grandma W. and Aunt Kerri, and we celebrated my first Mother's Day. Before Bekah was born, I was hoping she would be born on or before Mother's Day. (Her due date was the day before.) She was born 6 days before Mother's Day...but by that point, I realized that I so busy being a mom (and enjoying it as much as I could) that I didn't really care about being "celebrated". Nathan and I did go out for dinner that night...and just as promised, my first big meal out was medium rare steak and sushi! My, oh my, how I missed both of those during pregnancy! The rest of the month is pretty much a blur to me. I was already loving being a mom, but I was also in survival mode much of the time, feeling rather overwhelmed with not knowing how to care for this precious little girl and still get everything else done. We were blessed by so many who provided meals for us during the month (and a little beyond) and by my mom who stayed with us a few days while Nathan was out of town for work.
June
We took a few more little steps back toward "normal" life...although, we were still in the stages of major adjustments. We joined our small group again (after taking May off) and made our first trip to Ohio. The first weekend of June was a big one. Bekah met her Uncle Mark, Aunt Emma, cousin Sarah, Grandma Lynn, and Great-aunt Bev. She also attended a wedding and reception for the very first time. Throughout the month, she learned to like her baths more and more (as long as her daddy gave them to her), and she also smiled more and more. We were quickly learning that we had a rather happy baby, very unlike how her mom was as a baby!
July
Two trips to Ohio! The middle of the month, we met the newest addition to the family, and got some fun pictures of Bekah with her cousins Sarah and Anna. Bekah also met some of her other relatives on her Grandma W.'s side of the family. A couple weeks later, we were back in Ohio for Nathan's cousin's wedding, so Bekah was able to meeting Nathan's family (including her cousin Chase). Also throughout July...we moved Bekah from the pack 'n play in our room to the crib in her room. It was a much more difficult change for me than for her. For over 2 months, Bekah had slept in a pack 'n play next to our bed every night. It was a bittersweet thing to have her moved across the hall to her own room. She did very well with the change. That month, she also started sucking her thumb (and other fingers)...and around that time, she started sleeping through the night. :) And the stunning revelation of the month...she looks just like her daddy (minus all the facial hair).
August
Bekah continued to confirm that she's a fairly happy baby. We love seeing her smiles and hearing her laughter. We were really working on tummy time, which she really wasn't all that fond of. She would much rather be on her back since she could scoot and look around more easily. By the end of the month, she was doing much better at tummy time...but she also figured out how to roll over! She first rolled over from back to tummy, and a few days later figured out tummy to back. So, tummy time is cut much shorter now since she knows how to roll over to her back. Also in August, we started putting her in the nursery during church. One week, she decided to stop sleeping through the service and chose to talk through most of it instead. She's done pretty well in the nursery so far...but she's a pretty social baby, anyway, so that wasn't too surprising.
September
Bekah attended her very first block party, and has also been introduced to football! She seems to enjoy watching the wonderful sport. We've also been hitting the nap thing fairly hard. It hasn't been an easy process, but it's been going much better than expected. There are still a couple weeks left of the month, which are filled with several fun things.
So...how am I feeling about being a stay-at-home mommy? The word "love" doesn't seem to be adequate. At first, I may have felt like I was in survival mode for much of it, but I still enjoyed being a mom. And each day, I love it even more. I'm definitely living my "dream career". And in the midst of that, I feel like I'm actually getting back to some kind of "normal" life (much more so than at the beginning of the summer). It's a different kind of normal than what I've had in the past (and a normal that is always changing), but it's a much better kind of normal. I have an amazing husband and an incredible daughter. The Lord has blessed me so far beyond what I deserve. I have so much more I want to write, but the sweet little girl is awake from her nap, so it's time to go enjoy spending some time together before her next nap!
