HERE IT IS

This post is inspired by an email from one of my friends/sisters.

Her and two other friends/sisters went to see Over The Rhine Friday night. They apparently had a wonderful time. So this is brought to you through these three ladies.

While reading the email account of their time at the show I thought of an OTR song that so wonderfully expresses what I am experiencing these days. And I am more certain than ever of the One who will be revealed to us all one day.

Today we get to share our stories with each other of the One who is setting us free and at work in the world to reconcile that which was lost and belongs to him, back unto himself. I thought of this song for many reasons. One of those reasons is that it speaks of the tension we all live in. The struggle between that which is already here and that which is still to come. That which has been accomplished already...in full.. through what he has done for us, and our floundering between freedom and the things that hold us captive still. It speaks of the work of his love that bruises and the forgiveness that melts the ice that makes healthy relationships possible again. First of all our relationship with Him, which without, our relationships with each other will just continue to cause more pain and hurt.

This disarming he has been walking me and many of you through is so necessary. A disarming that is another outworking of this transformation and reconciliation. If it does not happen we are left unable to love the other with his love. Be they friend...lover...or enemy. The deeper his love goes the deeper the bruising. What a beautiful piece of heartache this is all turning out to be.

This is from their Christmas CD Snow Angels

Here It Is

I cried when I wrote this
I’ll always remember
The worst kind of lonely
Is alone in December

The act of forgiveness
Is always a mystery
The melting of ice
And the future of history

Some call it obsession
I call it commitment
I make my confession
I make it in public

I hope that it’s helpful
That others can use it
That it’s more than my ego
And my need to abuse it

I’m wrappin’ up my love this Christmas
I’m wrappin’ up my love this Christmas
I’m wrappin’ up my love this Christmas
And here it is

The leaves on the oak tree
Hold on through the winter
They’re brown and their brittle
They clatter together

I can’t seem to let go
I’m so scared of losing
The deeper the love goes
The deeper the bruising

The trouble with talking
Is it makes you sound clever
The trouble with waiting
Is you’ll just wait forever

There’s a loop of excuses
That plays in your mind
And makes the truth
Even harder to find

I’m wrappin’ up my love this Christmas
I’m wrappin’ up my love this Christmas
I’m wrappin’ up my love this Christmas
And here it is

When they blow Gabriel’s horn
Rip fiction from fact
I want to get caught
In some radical act

Of love and redemption
The sound of warm laughter
Some true conversation
With a friend or my lover

Somewhere down the road
We’ll lift up our glass
And toast the moment
And moments past

The heartbreak and laughter
The joy and the tears
The scary scary beauty
Of what’s right here

I’m wrappin’ up my love this Christmas
I’m wrappin’ up my love this Christmas
I’m wrappin’ up my love this Christmas
And here it is

Kimber, Cynthia and Tina, it is so much fun getting to watch you all walk in these new freedoms with Father...don't be distracted or discouraged by what you might "see" swirling around you. He is always here with us in it all. Learning to listen is something we need to learn.

One day, maybe even in this life, if Father wills, we will lift a glass together in celebration of Him and the journey he has led us on out of the grip of the mess. But if not here, we certainly will lift that glass with each other at His appearing. I look forward to that gathering with you all.