His Love Endu - Well That Took A Weird Turn (Advent Day 16)

When I lived in Zambia, one of the things I loved so much was the call-and-answer style of singing. Someone would sing out a line, and the whole congregation would sing the response in a thunder of harmonies. There's nothing quite like it.
It's so beautiful.

Psalm 136 sounds like a call and answer song to me.  The whole psalm follows that pattern - a declaration of who God is / what He has done, and the refrain His love endures forever.

 Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good.
His love endures forever.
Give thanks to the God of gods.
His love endures forever.
Give thanks to the Lord of lords:
His love endures forever.

And after reading that line twenty six times, my heart is ready to repeat His love endures forever.

I love that that's the refrain He wants us to carry.  I think so many of us expect it to be something else. I find myself so often working with the merciless daily refrain of:
be perfect, be perfect, be perfect
or its regretful sister:
you weren't good enough, you weren't good enough.


But that is not the heartbeat He offers.  It's this:

To him who alone does great wonders,
His love endures forever.
Who by his understanding made the heavens,
His love endures forever.
Who spread out the earth upon the waters,
His love endures forever.

Each time the refrain echoes, it's like a something wraps firmer, sturdier, stronger around my weaknesses.  The affirmation of God's eternal, enduring love is pounded out here over and over and over again, like the snare in a Scottish pipe band, the techno beat on your running mix, a dragon boat drummer guiding the rowers.

That echo, that beat, gets in and drives.

He remembered us in our low estate
His love endures forever
and freed us from our enemies.
His love endures forever.

The other night we were driving home in the dark. Our kids are not used to being out at night, and Pascal was scared.  So I reminded him of the comfort that my mother used to share with me: 
"God is holding us, baby."  
'God is holding us?'
"Yes."
'God is holding me?'
"Yes."
'God is holding you?'
"Yes."

The eternal God is your refuge, and underneath are the everlasting arms.

Mary and Joseph held their baby that first Christmas night, but His everlasting arms were holding them.
And He holds us still; His love endures forever.

So as I was sitting here writing this in my quiet house, full of my soundly sleeping family, an alarm went off.

But it wasn't any of our alarms.
And my super panicked freaked out brain remembered that people down the street woke up with an intruder in their house last week
And all I could think was they're in our house and it's their alarm
And my senses got all fuzzy and started to hide
And I couldn't think straight, or even listen straight
Because I was so afraid.
It was, I eventually discovered, a toy with a dying battery.
And now I am sitting here with my heart pounding, laughing at myself,
 
But I still mean it.  His love does endure forever.  And I'm going to go back, and put God's refrain in that story and see what happens:

As I was sitting here writing this in my quiet house, full of my soundly sleeping family, an alarm went off.
His love endures forever.
But it wasn't any of our alarms.
His love endures forever.
And my super panicked freaked out brain remembered that people down the street woke up with an intruder in their house last week
His love endures forever.
And all I could think was they're in our house and it's their alarmHis love endures forever.
And my senses got all fuzzy and started to hide His love endures forever.
And I couldn't think straight, or even listen straight
His love endures forever.
Because I was so afraid.His love endures forever.
It was, I eventually discovered, a toy with a dying battery.His love endures forever.
And now I am sitting here with my heart pounding, laughing at myselfHis love endures forever.
For quiet nights or frightful nights, it's a good echo to in the heart. Sleep well, friends. His love endures forever.
xo.