I DO! – A Lullaby – June 26th
I DO
June 26, 2021
A Lullaby
Zephaniah 3:17, ‘The Lord your God in your midst, the Mighty One, will save; He will rejoice over you with gladness, He will quiet you with His love, He will rejoice over you with singing.’ (NKJV)
There’s this picture that comes to mind. When I was pregnant with my children, I could lay for hours (and I had to as I went into premature labor very early on in each pregnancy and was bedridden until the doctors considered the babies safe enough to be delivered) and sing to them. I would lay my hands on my ever-expanding stomach, rhythmically caress, and sing. Nursery rhymes, worship songs, lullabies, pop; you name it, I sang it to my babies. I will go so far as to say the reason my children so love music today is because I forced them to endure it when they didn’t even have a voice!
When they were born and growing up, the comforting practice never changed. I sang over them before they napped, I sang to them at bedtime, we sang in our home…A LOT! Music was a big part of their childhood, and it still is in their lives today. We fixed broken hearts and bunged up knees and celebrated passages of life with music always in the background. In fact, my kids, and now my grandchildren, wouldn’t go to sleep without prayers and singing over them.
Our Father, the God of the Universe, the One Who made you and me, sings over us too! That is amazing to me. I know the love that used to propel me when I was beyond exhaustion every night to endure the stairs and settle in close to each child and sing. I cannot fathom that my Heavenly Father takes the time to do that over me! And not only that, He’s singing a song of praise as He rejoices over me. And I bet, even when I mess up, even when I disappoint, even when my choices cause Him sadness, I think He sings over me still; I bet He continuously rejoices over me, encouraging me consistently with His affirming ‘I Do’, His love song, His lullaby, to me.
You know why I can confidently believe that? Because there was not one time when my children had acted out, maybe disappointed, frustrated or hurt me even, that I withheld my singing over them. See, when we love something, even when times are tough, we don’t punish and prohibit. We push through; we offer that small sacrifice of praise that covers a multitude of mistakes and shortcomings so we can assuredly move beyond and forgive. If we as humans can practice this, how much more so must our Father in Heaven be able to do this on our behalf?!
What a promise ‘I Do’ is! Whether we are committing to a person or simply being intentional in life, our word should be a cherished commodity. This month, journey with me in ‘I Do’ moments which are an oath, a vow, a pact, a pledge, an honorarium.
