Psalm 91 and Tennessee Whiskey

Now there's a combination.

Words from the Bible and a country song?

At first glance they appear a little contradictory, maybe. But not in my head right now.
They both have their place. They are both a part of our current situation:

Crying out and longing for what was, what we hope can be again one day soon, and also
realizing (once again) just how much we take for granted...and how we are so not in control.

Psalm 91

Several days ago I was asked to video myself reading a portion of Psalm 91 for a project at school. The following verses were assigned to me:

"Surely He will save you from the fowler's snare and from the deadly pestilence. He will cover you with His feathers, and under His wings you will find refuge; His faithfulness will be your shield and rampart."

Just a few days later, early this past Wednesday morning, Woody's dad called to say his mom had fallen. He needed help getting her off the floor, so Woody jumped out of bed and went to help.

Let me pause here and say that his mom had been sick for several days. Two trips to the doctor and still no improvement. Tummy issues, aches, severe weakness and fatigue, but no signs of fever or any respiratory symptoms, so no concerns about the virus. That's what his dad was told.

Until Wednesday. Woody was pretty sure his mom had broken her arm when she fell, so off to the hospital they went. Getting her checked in was a whole ordeal. "Stay outside and wait in your car," they said. Hours later, once she was admitted, "No visitors allowed," they said. His dad had to say good-bye and leave. No choice. No control.

That's a terrible situation for any of us to be in, but for our family, it's especially difficult. Woody's mom is from Japan, and while we can understand her English, many people cannot. How in the world would strangers at the hospital be able to understand her, and more importantly, be able to explain to her what in the world was happening to her? No control.

After plenty of testing, a UTI was discovered, a closed fracture of her humerus, plus blood sugar, iron, and potassium levels that were all out of whack. And then, within two days, his dad was told she had the virus. That news, at first, left us scratching our heads...all indications about testing around here indicate a process that takes days to get results. Are they sure? Are they assuming? What does that mean? Is she showing symptoms now that she wasn't previously? So many questions. No control.

We were at the mercy of sparse communication between his dad and her caregivers.

Psalm 91, especially the verses assigned to me, quickly became (and continues to be) my prayer in the midst of these hard days. And when I think about how He went before me, before us, and gave those verses to me, I am undone.


Tennessee Whiskey

Okay...so there's that. Now what about this whole Tennessee Whiskey thing?

The last five days (really the last few weeks) have left many of us longing for the way things were...we miss "normal" life. We miss hanging out with friends, we miss going to school and work and church, eating at our favorite restaurants, and shopping at TJ Maxx and Target. We miss walking into the grocery store or picking up food at the drive-thru without worrying. Amen?

I miss all those things, yes, but I miss Saturday night dates at the Barn the most.
Enter Tennessee Whiskey.

Woody and I love to dance together. We've been dancing together since the day we met, actually. Not fancy ballroom type dancing. Just a little country two-step and lots of slow dancing. But life happens and seasons change. For a long time, no dancing for us. About the time Leanna left for college, though, we discovered a very sweet, family friendly spot where we could go two-step and slow dance all we wanted on Saturday nights. That place, The Barn Dance, became a sort of haven for us. Even the owner will say it's a place to come and "forget your troubles, even if just for a little while".

And our family has experienced troubles these past few years. In some situations, the Lord answered our prayers the way we wanted Him to. But in others, He did not. No control.

Being able to hold one another close on the dance floor while we're listening to our favorite song playing has become a picture of Him holding us through all of those trials. So now, when we can't go, I'm reminded of just how much we have taken the ability to go for granted. Just like we've taken the ability to go all those other places I mentioned earlier for granted, too.

But maybe what I'm most reminded of is this: we all have the ability to go straight to Him. We take for granted, perhaps even forget, that the Creator of all things is always available to hold us close and hear our prayers. We may feel like that's just not enough. We may feel angry or frustrated or fearful or depressed or a million other emotions. But feelings are not the Truth. The Truth is He does hold each of us in the palm of His hand, just like He holds this world. The Truth is He remains in control, even when everything appears to us to be out of control.

Life is not guaranteed. It is a gift. Every breath is a gift, so if you are reading this, thank Him for the gift of today. Even it's a hard day, it is still a gift. It's another opportunity to choose to let Him hold you close.

I think realizing just how precious time with Him actually is may be the gift we discover in the midst of all this mess. Maybe the mess isn't at all what it seems to be to us.

Today is Sunday, and this morning we received a very different kind of early morning call. The doctor called to report that Woody's mom is doing well, and if she continues on this path, she may get to come home tomorrow! I cannot begin to tell you what that call meant to all of us, but at the same time, we are still very aware that things can change quickly. The Lord may choose to grant her more time here at home or He may not. No control.

Only a Psalm and a song...and One who is in control.