Before the Blessing Comes
Lord it’s easy to praise You on the backside of the blessing
When the answer has already come.
But do I trust enough, do I have faith enough to sing
Before the answer comes?
When I have crossed the raging waters and reached the other side
It’s easy Lord to lift my voice to You.
But when the weight of the dark storm presses on all sides,
Can I sing until you bring me through?
Before the blessing comes, let me praise you.
Before the blessing comes, let me rejoice.
You have never let me down, never looked away or abandoned me
So before the blessing comes, I’ll lift my voice.
My life is full of mountains, hills and valleys, too.
The longest rollercoaster I’ve known.
But even rollercoasters have to stop sometime.
So I’ll just keep on holding until I’m home.
Before the blessing comes, let me praise you.
Before the blessing comes, let me rejoice.
You have never let me down, never looked away or abandoned me.
So before the blessing comes, I’ll lift my voice.
Sandy Moffett ©
I co-wrote a song with my friend, Dan McGowan back in 2002, and the recent Covid-19 trial brings it back from the recesses of my brain. This is something the likes of which most of us have never experienced; quarantines, the shortage of basic needs, and illness, maybe even death from a new threat.
But here’s the thing, all of the dramas I have experienced, and I’ve had plenty, have at some point passed. I survived. The people who went through the drama with me survived. I didn’t ride the rollercoaster alone. God was with me! He got on the ride with me, and when the ride was over, He lifted the safety bar and helped me get my wobbly legs back under me.
I know, that might sound flip, even sacrilegious, but my God is a real God. He is not some unreachable, mysterious shadow. I have felt His presence and comfort when I thought I couldn’t cry one more tear or pray one more prayer.
Every trial has a beginning, middle and an end. There is always an end to the trial. And every trial teaches me something. And when the time is right, I can use that lesson to help relate to someone else going through a struggle of their own.
I am not saying that we should embrace this time in our lives – no. I am saying it won’t last forever. The rollercoaster ride will end, and we will be okay.
A caricature is an artist’s exaggerated rendering of what he/she sees in you. Your flaws are ten times bigger it seems, out there for all to witness. But good character is often a quiet thing. It is your underlying motivation, something that is engraved in your very being.
I have seen many sides of folks in recent weeks, which I won’t even mention, as their actions have been so reprehensible. But I have seen people of great character rising above the crisis. One such woman is Elisa Palermo. I’ve never physically met Elisa who lives in the small community of Kerrville, Texas. But I do speak to her via Facebook many times a week. Elisa is a woman of great character; a single mother of three. She runs her own business from home; while caring for veterans in the latter years of their lives. She takes care of both of her parents even though they divorced when she was only three.
I’ve watched her struggle with physical suffering, but that has never slowed her down. I’ve seen her grieve the loss of one of her vets when he could no longer hold the tethers of this world and spread his wings toward heaven. And I have heard the sorrow in her voice as she wept over the high school seniors in her town, including her daughter, Kadie who will not have their graduation this year due to this virus.
She could have turned inward and felt worry for herself. But she didn’t. Her focus is on bringing joy to others. She has helped us laugh, and she has stopped in the middle of her live feeds, her livelihood, to pray for others. She is a woman of faith and a woman of true courage. I am honored and humbled to call her my friend.