You Never Let Go

One of Ann Catherine's favorite songs is "You Never Let Go."

It's a Christian song that talks about how God never lets us go - through the good times and the bad.

It was on a CD that she got at last year's Vacation Bible School. She loves a lot of the songs on that tape and this is one of her favorite ones. (It just goes to show how powerful VBS can be, even to a three-year-old.)

The chorus says

Oh no, You never let go
Through the calm and through the storm
Oh no, You never let go
In every high and every low
Oh no, You never let go
Lord, You never let go of me

As you can understand, this song just speaks to me and Chris. We are a living, breathing example of how God never lets go. I guess that's why it just warms my heart when Ann Catherine sings it. There's something so precious about your child singing praise songs, and it just especially touches me when she sings this one. That child has no idea how God held onto her when she was so sick. She has no idea how he held onto me and Chris during that ordeal and her sister's death.

It gets better. On the way to the hockey game the other night, Ann Catherine wanted to listen to this CD. When this song came on, Lily, my two-year-old who is just starting to string together sentences, just starts belting this song out. She has heard Ann Catherine sing it so many times that she knows the words now.

That precious little innocent soul was shouting, "Oh No! You never let go!" with such emphasis that Chris and I had tears in our eyes. "My heart is so full," he said. "Mine too," I said. We just soaked up those sweet sounds on the way to the hockey game.

At church today, we sang it. Chris leaned over and whispered in my ear, "Ann Catherine asked me this morning if we were going to sing Lily's song at big church." Well, wouldn't you know it? God thought it was time we sang Lily's song.

I put my arm through Chris' and sang this song with tears in my eyes. One part especially spoke to me:

I can see a light that is coming for the heart that holds on
And there will be an end to these troubles
But until that day comes
Still I will praise You, still I will praise You

That really spoke to me. I am so grateful that there is a reward for the "heart that holds on." I am so grateful that this earthly pain isn't forever.

We all - every single one of us - experience earthly pain in one form or another. There is a lot of hurt in this world. Sometimes our struggles seem so hard with no end in sight.

"Still I will praise you, still I will praise you."

That's the key. And it's not easy. Please don't think I am superwoman. When Melissa died, I didn't immediately praise God. I hurt and I was confused and I was mad and I was devestated.

But, I praise Him now. My "heart holds on" and I praise Him for what He has done in our lives. I praise Him that Melissa is safe and happy and well. I praise Him for His promise of seeing her again one day.

That's not because I'm some perfect person - far from it. It's because of what He has done in my life.

No matter what you face in your life, I hope you'll remember that God never lets go. We might think he has because the situation is so hard and the pain hurts so bad, but he hasn't. He holds us so tight. Think of the words of this song.

And if we just trust him, we'll be able to praise him again. With our whole heart.

Just like our children.

Take a moment to watch this. And just remember that he never lets go.