He sat next
to me during worship, the young man who had been born in a remote island
village on the other side of the globe. There, he hadn’t escaped the notice of
the God who sees, the One who brought him into my home where he grew in my
heart. In our home he learned to play music, first sitting on the piano bench
at age four, and picking out notes from the hymns he’d heard in morning worship
services.
We visited a
church near Chicago, this young man and I, and the pastor spoke on these words:
In those days Jesus came from Nazareth of
Galilee and was baptized by John in the Jordan. And when he came up out of the
water, immediately he saw the heavens being torn open and the Spirit descending
on him like a dove. And a voice came from heaven, "You are my beloved Son;
with you I am well pleased.” Mark 1:9-11, ESV
The pastor
spoke to the longing we have, each of us, to hear those same words. We want to
know we are beloved. We long to hear from those whom we love that, with us,
they are well pleased. We want to be affirmed, to know that we are good at
something; that our lives matter. These are natural desires and good ones.
These are words we would expect to hear in a world where God’s shalom reigns,
where His image bearers live in harmony.
But we don’t
live in a world of shalom. Relationships, even loving ones, are broken; and we
broken people disappoint and hurt one another. Parents and children, husbands
and wives don’t always love well. We are more prone to express our displeasure
than tell our loved ones, “With you I am well pleased.” Our voices sound
strange notes. Dissonant chords echo in our homes.
The words,
said the preacher, which God the Father spoke to His beloved Son are the same
ones He speaks to all who belong to Him:
You are my beloved. With you I am well
pleased.
Today. This
minute. Not later, after you’ve cleaned up your act. Right now. You are my
beloved child. I am well pleased with you. And when we are able, said the
pastor, to grab ahold of how deeply God loves us, how well pleased He is with
us, everything begins to change.
We walked
forward together, the young man and I, and received the bread and the wine; the
broken body and spilled blood of the beloved Son. Musicians played Holy, Holy, Holy in an arrangement which
sounded like it could have been written by Vince Guaraldi; the man who composed
the music for the Charlie Brown specials, the music my young man has been
playing most of his life.
And, in the
eating of the bread and the drinking of the wine, I tasted shalom; and sensed the
dissonant chords resolving.
Linking with Michelle:
And with Jen and the sisterhood:
26 comments:
Perfect. In every way. Lovely, grace-filled and true. Before he began his 3 years of traveling ministry, before he stepped up onto that cross, before he burst out of the tomb - Jesus - JESUS himself - needed to hear those words. Why do we think we - or our children - are any less needy than he was?? LOVED THIS.
Yes, Nancy. I love this. I love you, though I've never met you. But I will...
lovely post. just lovely. I am beloved. It feels so good to know that.
Wow. I heard the same thing today. Different words. Different place. Same message. Now, isn't that just like God?
love to hear of the wonderful time you had with that young man. he's a lucky guy to have a you.
"You are my beloved. With you I am well pleased.
Today. This minute. Not later, after you’ve cleaned up your act. Right now. You are my beloved child. I am well pleased with you." i need to hear that. thanks for the reminder my beloved nancy.
God is GOOD! Bless that young man. He is in my prayers. ps. can't wait to see you.
Wow, Nancy. Beautiful account of a beautiful moment.
Beautifully expressed.
I wish you this gift of peace always.
When it seems impossible and far away and pointless.
It is true.
I love this message. Right now, not after we've cleaned up our act--we are his beloved child. Beautifully told, Nancy. Thank you.
Oh, I'm so glad you got to worship together!And, really? Charlie Brown Communion music? That is very cool.
I could feel your joy and wonder too, Nancy. That unspoken love for your beloved boy. They find their way, I guess. So glad there is One who leads.
Nancy, I loved the way you used music through this post . . . and those dissonant chords that do feel so good when they resolve! Excellent!!
Beautiful, Nancy. And so what I need to hear today. {and I like how music is a theme in your post and mine too}.
Great post. I reread the other day the prayer:
I look at God, looking at me, smiling.
so powerful knowing we are the Beloved's beloved.
I needed to hear this today. I just bared my soul on my blog in regard to my parenting and regrets. I can't say it was cleansing, but your post reminds me it doesn't mean I'm unlovable. thanks. :)
this feels like poetry. may His love always be victor in our lives and our relationships, each and every one.
How absolutely perfect this is, Nancy. Beautiful. Truly. XOX
This is just beautiful Nancy (what a gifted writer you are!). I've just come from Deidra's. She wrote about the same thing. It is a wonder that it is so difficult for us to believe we are so loved and then to give back those loving words. I'm so glad you had that special time with your boy. What a gift.
Your words are absolutely beautiful, the meaning in them even more so. Blessings!
This gives me so much hope, Nancy.
And you failed to mention that your son plays Vince Guaraldi. He's my kind of piano man.
I can't tell you how happy this makes my heart. This story of you and the boy.
My 17yo and were hanging out yesterday afternoon while the others were off watching the Packers throttle the Vikings. I don't recall the context now all of sudden, but he commented that he didn't think he made good decisions. Because when he'd get himself in trouble with us it was common that we asked something akin to "Good decision or bad decision?" Of course the answer was "Bad decision." So he figured most of his decisions were bad.
Dang.
Somehow or other, and he was a really good sport about all this, he observed that we didn't make a practice of evaluating his good decisions the same way.
We tend to notice when they don't do things the way we trained, the way we taught, the way we hoped.
I am so grateful God knows our need to hear it. Small affirmations. Big affirmations.
oh what beautiful truth here, nancy... that every child would grow up knowing they are beloved. xo
Vince G. is one of my husband's favorite musicians!I would have loved to hear "Holy! Holy! Holy!" to that music.
Loving and shepherding my children, I so want them to know they are "my beloved in whom I am well pleased." They don't recognize that in the shepherding though at times. I am glad I am learning to hear God's love for me, now, in the shepherding.
I am so glad you had a wonderful day with this child of God, sent to you to love!
The music and word flow together and leave me with grace. I am his beloved.
Thanks Nancy.
Great message. One we all have been longing to hear.
Well pleased. Sometimes it's hard for me to believe God feels that about ME. I'm glad it's written in His book so I can review when I need to.
What island is your son from, Nancy? My sister's boys are both adopted from an island.
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