Joy Echoes

"Joy is the hearty echo of God's great love for us."

--Margaret Feinberg

Morning song bird on the eaves speaks, and my girl asks, "What is it saying?"

I am nudged awake. How long have I been deaf to the melody? Like the bird at the window, the reverberations of God's love notes are echoing throughout creation.

And here? Right in front of me, my little girl–the one who never stops talking these days–asks me the questions that I should be asking. All the wonder singing back at me. How many times have I tried to silence it?

She is my back seat driver, providing direct commentary along our daily route, unrolling her questions for miles. It feels at times she may never stop talking. I'm provided great insight into the inquisitive mind of my young child.

Sometimes if I'm listening right, it's as if from the mouth of a babe she speaks words instructed by heaven and it silences the enemy and my doubts (Psalm 8:2).

“Mommy? Why did God give you only one?”

It hangs there for a moment...like feathers on the air when a bird's been caught in the cat's mouth. I'm dumbstruck. The profundity stops me in my tracks.

How does she know the question of my heart? Oh, Lord, you examine my heart...you know everything before I utter a word (Psalm 139:1-4).

The best teacher may respond to a pupil's pondering by echoing back the question. And the Lord, my Rabboni, uses my own child to ask it. I look back in the rear-view mirror at her soft round face, those apple cheeks, her deep brown eyes staring through me.

“Only one what, Honey?” But I know what.

She says it clear, “Why did God give you one child?”

The answer chokes in my throat. It begs to be said aloud. I need hear it for myself, declare it in faith:

"Well...I believe God has a different story for each person. Mommy and Daddy prayed a long time for a baby, and you are his gift to us. I believe God has a very special plan for your life."

http://jesshekmanphotography.com/

http://jesshekmanphotography.com/

I recall being in the second trimester of my second pregnancy, womb swelling with hope. My mother-in-law prayed over me, that God would restore the years the locusts had eaten (Joel 2:25). The pain from losing her own son to suicide just three years prior left a gaping chasm in our souls. But do you know the thing about empty spaces? They are never so big that Jesus can't fill them.

You have turned my mourning into joyful dancing. You have taken away my clothes of mourning and clothed me with joy. PSALM30:11

Sometimes our long interrogations of God are so repetitive and rambling that we begin to hear the sound of our own voice resonating back. All the whys, what-ifs, and maybes clink like wishing pennies tossed into the dried up fountain of a hollowed out heart.

Don't waste a moment more pining after what could have been or what might be with eyes and ears turned inward by discontentment. What we perceive as the silence of God may be the muted waves of his love tones stopped at the breakers of our heart.

Tune the ear to his Spirit and hear the song of the Lord. We can learn the notes only by way of listening for his melody and then respond in harmony. The days are brief and they are teeming with life. Let me spend them speaking back praise and I will say it out loud! God.is.good.

To the end that my tongue and my heart and everything glorious within me may sing praise to You and not be silent. O Lord my God, I will give thanks to You forever.
PSALM 30:12 AMP

(Our humble thanks for the newborn photos, those five years ago, to our good friend JessHekman Photography)