Great is Thy Faithfulness

Sunday morning I got a text from my "go-to" guitar player that simply said, "Out came the Son. Just a reminder."
At first, I wondered if he was "reminding" me of that for a specific reason. I texted back, and he said, no, just a reminder.
You'd think that would be something that I wouldn't need reminding of....... 

But even still, after literal and figural cloudy days, it's always good to stop to remember that the "Son" does come back out.

Later, at church, as the worship service flowed, so did my tears. You see, we began singing "Great Is Thy Faithfulness." At first, they old hymn version, then a praise chorus version. The tears didn't come right away, even as precious and meaningful as the song is to me. If you know my Pruitt story, you know why. If not, just ask; I'd be glad to share :)

Anyway...
My heart gave way, as did the tears, when I began to look out into the congregation from the choir loft.

There I found these faces:

A young widow. An older widow.
A young couple still coping with loss through a miscarriage.
A cancer survivor. 
Children who come to church without parents. 
Parents who come to church without their children.
A young girl who lost her mother and is learning to live alone. 
One who has faced abuse. 
A widower.
Single parents.
Married couples. 
Those who have faced infertility.

Then I saw countless saints, those who have walked with the Lord for many years.

I thought of each of these. I looked at their faces. We sang, "Oh how great is thy faithfulness; Lord, You are faithful to me." And I cried.

I cried bittersweet tears as I thought about the faithfulness that I know God must have shown them in each of these situations, the mercies that He's given daily to meet them where they are in their pain or struggle.

Those precious, older souls.....I wished that I could have sat down with them to hear their stories of God's goodness and faithfulness in their lives. What a book we could write on that!

Of course, I thought about myself and God's constant faithfulness to me. In the very worst days of my life, and in the normal day to days of my life. 

His grace on the terrible, horrible, no good, very bad days.
When you lose the job, lose a loved one, lose a home, lose your health to a diagnosis.

Or on the days when the car won't start, the dog got out, the coffee spills all over your car seat.
When you get stuck by the train.
When you're potty training.
When the kids are fighting. 
When you fail a class.
When he breaks your heart.
When the bills are due.

When it looks like the rain won't stop.

I was honored to get to speak in chapel last week at the school I attended 3rd-12th grade.
I shared with 7-12th grade first; then the elementary students.

During my time with the younger ones, we sang the Itsy Bitsy Spider. I reminded them that the song didn't end with the line "down came the rain and washed the spider out."

No. That's not the end. Eventually, "Out came the sun and dried up all the rain."

So whatever you are going through, remember that.
This isn't the end. Yes, yes, yes- it may be  is hard. 
I know.

But look for the "Son" in the midst of it. And when you see Him, sing out, "Great is thy faithfulness, Great is thy faithfulness; morning by morning new mercies I see." 

And then go tell someone your story.

"Out came the Son. Just a reminder."

Psalms 89:1
I will sing of the Lord's great love forever; with my mouth I will make your faithfulness known through all generations."

Wait Till You See How It Ends

I absolutely LOVE a good book or movie-especially with a plot twist. You know the ones: The Game with Michael Douglas and Sean Penn or The Village by M. Night Shyamalan. What about The Sixth Sense? Or maybe one of those girly movies (that I also love!) where after all the ups and downs and disappointments, the guy does get the girl. Then there's those books I love, like one of my favorites by Ted Dekker called Three. You'll just have to read it- I'm not giving it away.

What I love more is watching the movie a second time, with someone else who is seeing it for the first time. Or giving them the book after I've read it. The excitement is almost too much to take! I can't wait until they get the the end! And I hate spoilers, so there's no way I'm going to ruin the surprise! I just want them to finish so we can talk about it!

Yesterday, as I was flipping channels, I found The Passion of the Christ of television.  I've seen it before, but kept it on the channel for a while. Peyton came in, watched a little, then changed the station. I left the room, and came back to find him watching it again.
We didn't finish the movie, but as it was playing, this thought occurred to me: "Wait till you see how this ends!"

It is a hard movie to watch, seeing with not only our eyes but also our hearts, what Christ did for us, and how much pain He took on for us.  Then just when it looks like death had won, Jesus is resurrected! But even when you get to the end of that movie, it's still not THE END!
When He returns to take us home, it's still not over- that is just the beginning!

I also thought about all the suffering and pain that we go through. SO MANY are enduring things tonight that bring hurt, heartache, and what appears to be defeat.
Addictions, death, a diagnosis, loss, fears, failures, destruction, unfaithfulness, exhaustion...we both know the list is endless.

BUT WAIT. 
Just wait till you see how this ends. 
Don't give up.

Because He lives, I can face tomorrow. You can face tomorrow. 
I know it's a song many may sing, tomorrow, in fact.

But it's more than a song. It's TRUTH. 

Spoiler Alert!
Christ overcame death. Defeated death. Punched death in the face. He squashed death under His foot. 
OH! Death, where is your sting?

Because of this, we have HOPE.
And because of that hope, just wait till you see how this thing ends.