{spoken to}

really, why does it continue to amaze me and leave me totally speechless? after a particularly bad, emotional and grueling (to put it lightly) day, i received a package in the mail from a fellow ups driver's wife.

but, what it contained made me sob the moment i saw it. she had no idea what a week it had been. she had no idea that i was so overwhelmed that i had actually driven into the parking lot of wal-mart that very day to purchase a cd as music can provide me with so much comfort. however, before even going in to pick something out, i drove away because i was overwhelmed with even the choice.

i returned home, opened my mailbox and there was a package from her, it contained a cd. like i said, i sobbed. i read the sweet words in the note she had included and immediately put in the disc to listen to the song she referenced. here are the words........

natalie grant

"our hope endures"

you would think only so much can go wrong
calamity only strikes once
and you assume this one has suffered her share
life will be kinder from here

oh but sometimes the sun stays hidden for years
sometimes the sky rains night after night
when will it clear?
but our hope endures the worst of conditions
it's more than our optimism
let the earth quake
our hope is unchanged

how do we comprehend peace within pain?
or joy at a good man's wake?
walk a mile with the woman whose body is torn
with illness, but she marches on?

oh, cause sometimes the sun stays hidden for years
sometimes the sky rains night after night
when will it clear?
but our hope endures the worst of conditions
it's more than our optimism
let our earth quake
our hope is unchanged

emmanuel, God is with us
El Shaddai, all sufficient
we never walk alone
this is our hope
but our hope endures the worst of conditions
it's more than our optimism
let the earth quake
our hope is unchanged



okay, so i sobbed for the 7 or 8 times i kept hitting #7 in my drive to drop my mother off. but, even though the words struck particularly hard it was so much more than the song. it was the fact that God had taken the time to show me that all was okay. it was really more than okay. and, the fact that she, went out of her way to listen to whatever nudge God had given her that day - and she actually followed through. i get those nudges, but, ashamedly often get to busy to carry through. it was an eye-opening experience to listen and act in an effort to minister to others. she ministered to me in an enormous way. when i called her that night to thank her, she still really had no idea the huge gift she had given me that day. i'm just so glad she listened - if not for any other reason but to remind me to do the same.

Thank you E & D!