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On November 27, 2019, the Lord Jesus gave me a poem to write entitled, “You Loved Me.” So, I posted it on the internet. Then, one of my fellow Christian bloggers and friend, Tosin, read the poem. And, she responded to it with a tune for the poem, so it could become a song. God had given the tune to her, so she recorded herself singing it, and then she sent it to me via email. And, I was glad to receive it.
The interesting thing about this is that in May of this year, Tosin had written a poem, and she knew it was supposed to be a song, and so she asked me if I would write a tune for her poem. So, the Lord gave me a tune for her poem, which then became the song, “It’s All You.” And now she was giving me a tune for my poem, and she wanted to sing it, too. She has a beautiful heart and voice, for the glory of God.
So, I went to work turning her tune into written music. I first had to figure out the notes and then the timing, and then the chords, etc. But, the poem was seven stanzas long. So, if this was going to be a song, it needed to not have the same tune for all seven stanzas. So, I prayed about it, and the Lord led me to a different tune for stanzas 3-5. And, so the words had to be changed and rearranged some, too, to fit with the music.
The tune seemed to be a little different beat, though, but it worked. And, I knew the Lord was in it, and that this is what he wanted, so I followed his lead. And, then it turned out that I had written the melody for those 3 stanzas in ¾ timing while the bass notes underneath that melody were still in cut time. But, it worked, and I knew this was what the Lord wanted. So, I didn’t try to change it.
But, as I thought about the words just to that section, and then as I thought about the one timing against the other timing, I realized that this is what it is like when we are following the Lord and we are serving him, and especially if we are sharing his gospel. We are going to be walking to a different beat than the norm. We are going to be going against the flow. And, we are going to have to really focus on him so we don’t miss a beat or so we don’t start following the wrong beat. So, there is a lesson here not just in the words, but in the timing, too.
Anyway, I believed the Lord wanted me to sing the middle section and for Tosin to sing the beginning and the ending which is the tune she believes God gave her to sing. And, this is interesting, too, isn’t it, for I just realized another application here. And, that is that we are all different. The tune God gives Tosin to sing is not going to be the same tune he gives me, and I mean that both literally and figuratively. He gifts us all differently, and yet we can harmonize together, we can work together and sing the same song, with the same words, but expressing ourselves uniquely in the way God has designed for us. We don’t all have to be the same. And, we can still unite.
Another neat thing about this whole project is that Tosin is from Africa, but she lives in the UK now, and she is young enough to be my granddaughter. And, I am an old white woman who has always lived in the Midwest or Southeast USA. Yet, we are not divided by race, by color, by age, or by distance or culture. For, we are sisters in Christ, and so we can work together in harmony with one another, even though we are different.
The Song Lyrics
The song, although it certainly expresses my walk with the Lord, expresses the experiences and hearts of other followers of Christ whose experiences may not be the same as mine. For, so many of us have known loneliness, heartache, fears, despair, affliction, trials, opposition, abuse, mistreatment, etc. We have known dark valleys, and we have known mountain tops, too.
We have also known what it is like to sin against God and then to have him forgive us our sins because he loved us. And, then for him to not only restore us and renew us, but then we have known that call of God upon our lives where we said “Yes!” sometimes even knowing that more hardships were going to await us, and that even more dark valleys were ahead.
But, we have also known the strength of the Lord when we were weak, and we have seen how he has supplied our every need. And, we have known his comfort and his encouragement, and sometimes his chastisement, too, when we got off course or we began to go the wrong direction.
And, for many of us, we have known much rejection, even from the church, and so there have been times when we felt all alone, other than we knew God was with us, and so the Lord either comforted us with his love during those times or he blessed us with other followers of Christ to encourage us. I have had much encouragement from my Christian family over the internet, so I am very thankful for them. I love you all!
We could all think of so many ways in which God has blessed our lives, and supplied for our needs, and performed miracles in our lives, and guided us, and comforted and helped us through those dark times. If we were to name them all, there would not be space to list them all. So, the poem (the song) ends with a summary of praise and thanksgiving to God for all the many wonderful blessings and for his wonderful and awesome love and grace.
And, even in the dark times, we can still be glad. We can still be joyful, because our joy is not dependent on our circumstances. It is dependent on our relationship with Jesus Christ who loves us and who gave himself up for us that we might become his possession, and so that we might leave our lives of sin behind us to follow him in obedience to his will for our lives.
You Loved Me
An Original Work / December 3, 2019
A song based off the poem by the same name
When I was lonely and afflicted,
You were there to pick me up.
You took me in Your arms,
And You held me tenderly.
Your love embraced me.
Your grace sustained me.
When my heart cried out to You
In my fear and my despair,
You never turned away,
But You let me know You loved me.
Your grace forgave me.
You did not shame me.
Then, when I answered the call,
“Here, Lord, send me.”
You sent me to where I must be.
Your mercy held me, did not fail me.
All this, You had planned, to use me.
And, when all trials and scorn
Came to test me.
You gave me all that I would need.
You strengthened me so I’d not fail You.
Your kindness blessed me, it touched me.
And, when I needed the church
To lift up me,
To hearten me so I’d not fail,
You blessed me with folks who would love me.
Their presence with me, Your praise hailed!
And, when I walked through the valley
Of the shadow of the death,
And tears flowed from my eyes,
Still Your kindness was there for me.
Your touch, it healed me.
For I believed You.
When now I think about the ways,
Of the many, many ways
That You in Your great love
Show me that You’ll always care for me,
My heart, it thanks You,
And gladness fills me, fills me.
The interesting thing about this is that in May of this year, Tosin had written a poem, and she knew it was supposed to be a song, and so she asked me if I would write a tune for her poem. So, the Lord gave me a tune for her poem, which then became the song, “It’s All You.” And now she was giving me a tune for my poem, and she wanted to sing it, too. She has a beautiful heart and voice, for the glory of God.
So, I went to work turning her tune into written music. I first had to figure out the notes and then the timing, and then the chords, etc. But, the poem was seven stanzas long. So, if this was going to be a song, it needed to not have the same tune for all seven stanzas. So, I prayed about it, and the Lord led me to a different tune for stanzas 3-5. And, so the words had to be changed and rearranged some, too, to fit with the music.
The tune seemed to be a little different beat, though, but it worked. And, I knew the Lord was in it, and that this is what he wanted, so I followed his lead. And, then it turned out that I had written the melody for those 3 stanzas in ¾ timing while the bass notes underneath that melody were still in cut time. But, it worked, and I knew this was what the Lord wanted. So, I didn’t try to change it.
But, as I thought about the words just to that section, and then as I thought about the one timing against the other timing, I realized that this is what it is like when we are following the Lord and we are serving him, and especially if we are sharing his gospel. We are going to be walking to a different beat than the norm. We are going to be going against the flow. And, we are going to have to really focus on him so we don’t miss a beat or so we don’t start following the wrong beat. So, there is a lesson here not just in the words, but in the timing, too.
Anyway, I believed the Lord wanted me to sing the middle section and for Tosin to sing the beginning and the ending which is the tune she believes God gave her to sing. And, this is interesting, too, isn’t it, for I just realized another application here. And, that is that we are all different. The tune God gives Tosin to sing is not going to be the same tune he gives me, and I mean that both literally and figuratively. He gifts us all differently, and yet we can harmonize together, we can work together and sing the same song, with the same words, but expressing ourselves uniquely in the way God has designed for us. We don’t all have to be the same. And, we can still unite.
Another neat thing about this whole project is that Tosin is from Africa, but she lives in the UK now, and she is young enough to be my granddaughter. And, I am an old white woman who has always lived in the Midwest or Southeast USA. Yet, we are not divided by race, by color, by age, or by distance or culture. For, we are sisters in Christ, and so we can work together in harmony with one another, even though we are different.
The Song Lyrics
The song, although it certainly expresses my walk with the Lord, expresses the experiences and hearts of other followers of Christ whose experiences may not be the same as mine. For, so many of us have known loneliness, heartache, fears, despair, affliction, trials, opposition, abuse, mistreatment, etc. We have known dark valleys, and we have known mountain tops, too.
We have also known what it is like to sin against God and then to have him forgive us our sins because he loved us. And, then for him to not only restore us and renew us, but then we have known that call of God upon our lives where we said “Yes!” sometimes even knowing that more hardships were going to await us, and that even more dark valleys were ahead.
But, we have also known the strength of the Lord when we were weak, and we have seen how he has supplied our every need. And, we have known his comfort and his encouragement, and sometimes his chastisement, too, when we got off course or we began to go the wrong direction.
And, for many of us, we have known much rejection, even from the church, and so there have been times when we felt all alone, other than we knew God was with us, and so the Lord either comforted us with his love during those times or he blessed us with other followers of Christ to encourage us. I have had much encouragement from my Christian family over the internet, so I am very thankful for them. I love you all!
We could all think of so many ways in which God has blessed our lives, and supplied for our needs, and performed miracles in our lives, and guided us, and comforted and helped us through those dark times. If we were to name them all, there would not be space to list them all. So, the poem (the song) ends with a summary of praise and thanksgiving to God for all the many wonderful blessings and for his wonderful and awesome love and grace.
And, even in the dark times, we can still be glad. We can still be joyful, because our joy is not dependent on our circumstances. It is dependent on our relationship with Jesus Christ who loves us and who gave himself up for us that we might become his possession, and so that we might leave our lives of sin behind us to follow him in obedience to his will for our lives.
You Loved Me
An Original Work / December 3, 2019
A song based off the poem by the same name
When I was lonely and afflicted,
You were there to pick me up.
You took me in Your arms,
And You held me tenderly.
Your love embraced me.
Your grace sustained me.
When my heart cried out to You
In my fear and my despair,
You never turned away,
But You let me know You loved me.
Your grace forgave me.
You did not shame me.
Then, when I answered the call,
“Here, Lord, send me.”
You sent me to where I must be.
Your mercy held me, did not fail me.
All this, You had planned, to use me.
And, when all trials and scorn
Came to test me.
You gave me all that I would need.
You strengthened me so I’d not fail You.
Your kindness blessed me, it touched me.
And, when I needed the church
To lift up me,
To hearten me so I’d not fail,
You blessed me with folks who would love me.
Their presence with me, Your praise hailed!
And, when I walked through the valley
Of the shadow of the death,
And tears flowed from my eyes,
Still Your kindness was there for me.
Your touch, it healed me.
For I believed You.
When now I think about the ways,
Of the many, many ways
That You in Your great love
Show me that You’ll always care for me,
My heart, it thanks You,
And gladness fills me, fills me.
