Stand By Me

As I began to write down the things in my heart this morning, this song came to me. And I googled the lyrics because I did not trust memory to recite them.

Words and music by Charles A. Tindley:

1.
When the storms of life are raging,
Stand by me (stand by me);
When the storms of life are raging,
Stand by me (stand by me);
When the world is tossing me
Like a ship upon the sea
Thou Who rulest wind and water,
Stand by me (stand by me).

2.
In the midst of tribulation,
Stand by me (stand by me);
In the midst of tribulation,
Stand by me (stand by me);
When the hosts of hell assail,
And my strength begins to fail,
Thou Who never lost a battle,
Stand by me (stand by me).

3.
In the midst of faults and failures,
Stand by me (stand by me);
In the midst of faults and failures,
Stand by me (stand by me);
When I do the best I can,
And my friends misunderstand,
Thou Who knowest all about me,
Stand by me (stand by me).

4.
In the midst of persecution,
Stand by me (stand by me);
In the midst of persecution,
Stand by me (stand by me);
When my foes in battle array
Undertake to stop my way,
Thou Who savèd Paul and Silas,
Stand by me (stand by me).

5.
When I’m growing old and feeble,
Stand by me (stand by me);
When I’m growing old and feeble,
Stand by me (stand by me);
When my life becomes a burden,
And I’m nearing chilly Jordan,
O Thou “Lily of the Valley,”
Stand by me (stand by me).

This morning as my husband and I sat before the wood burning stove watching the fire and mulling over the beginnings of the day, I slipped in the last CD of Jan Karon's Book, "In the Company of Others." As always we listened captivated by the beauty and flow of a woman author that has become like a mentor to us in so many ways. God has such a beautiful way of using people, books, events or anything he chooses to touch our hearts. Today he used Jan Karon once more to open our hearts to Him and give us insight to where real peace and joy come from which of course is our Savior Jesus Christ. From our Lord comes healing, forgiveness, a newness of life that only comes from his love and guidance.

In a perfect world we could just follow the Lord in all our ways and trust in Him completely and never would we dash our foot on a stone or be alone or sink into a depression or lack of faith. However, we are humans and we are frail and it is our destiny to fail.

I wish I had the power, let me rephrase that, I wish the Lord would grant me the power to speak in a way of His love and faithfulness to me that would inspire others to walk in the light as he is in the light. I wish I would always have that power. As my husband pointed out God has already given us that power, but we just need to receive it and use it for him. But because I cannot achieve that goal completely, will not keep me from striving for complete obedience and run the race as Paul did until the Lord calls me home. And I have learned in even this attempt I must come to him in prayer and by faith and follow him in order to run that race and complete that goal. There is no power within myself.

God has used Jan Karon and Beth Moore to make my life better and also has given me the greatest blessing of all in that my husband can share with me what is given to me even when it reaches his heart in a different way at times. Beth Moore has led me to the Lord through her way of teaching and the experiences she shares in her life that touch the marrow of my bones. Jan Karon has given me the inspiration to reach higher in my desire to reach others with optimism, hope and joy and doing it through the words that only God could deliver to another soul.

I have come to know that each of these women will not be used to reach others as they have been used to reach me, however should I have the ability to pass along the joy and happiness they have brought into my life perhaps someone else would also be touched by them through God in what ever matter he chose to reach them. Therefore, I will continue to do my best to pass along what has been given to me.

Is not our life to be passed along to others? Are we simply put here on this earth to muddle along and live the roller coaster of life alone and not touch or change someones life in the journey?

I think our purpose is to touch others lives for Christ. Perhaps our experiences will glorify God through all our miserable attempts. The scripture from James came to my mind,
"Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and cometh down from the Father of lights, with whom is no variableness, neither shadow of turning." James 1:17 Every good gift. Jan Karon and Beth Moore are good gifts.

When I pass from this life I want it to be said of me that I passed the good gift of Christ to others. Not anything in me, but in my willingness to serve and glorify my Lord. It is very difficult to keep the Me out of glorifying Christ. I just want to be said to have been a vessel he used. I can guarantee from the very depth of my soul that there is nothing good in me, but the Holy Spirit that indwells me.