It is our last week with Mark. He moves back to Toronto on Monday for the rest of the year. I don't really have any words to describe what I'm feeling. My heart doesn't seem to handle even the thought of him leaving already. So to these last days with him I'm clinging, and to this hymn. I can't read it all the way through without breaking down because of how true these words are to my heart.
Why should I be discouraged and why should the shadows fall?
Why should my heart be lonely and long for heaven and home?
When Jesus is my portion, my constant Friend is He,
His eye is on the sparrow and I know He watches me.
His eye is on the sparrow and I know He watches me.
Why should my heart be lonely and long for heaven and home?
When Jesus is my portion, my constant Friend is He,
His eye is on the sparrow and I know He watches me.
His eye is on the sparrow and I know He watches me.
I sing because I'm happy;
I sing because I'm free;
His eye is on the sparrow
And I know He watches me.
Let not your heart be troubled; these tender words I hear;
And resting on his goodness I lose my doubts and fears;
For by the path He leadeth but one step I may see;
His eye is on the sparrow and I know He watches me.
His eye is on the sparrow and I know He watches me.
I sing because I'm happy;
I sing because I'm free;
His eye is on the sparrow
And I know He watches me.
Whenever I am tempted; whenever clouds arise;
When songs give place to sighing; when hope within me dies;
I draw the closer to Him; from care He sets me free;
His eye is on the sparrow and I know He watches me.
His eye is on the sparrow and I know He watches me.
I sing because I'm happy;
I sing because I'm free;
His eye is on the sparrow
And I know He watches me.
A story about this hymn:
"Mrs. Doolittle had been bedridden for nigh twenty years. Her husband was an incurable cripple who had to propel himself to and from his business in a wheel chair. Despite their afflictions, they lived happy Christian lives, bringing inspiration and comfort to all who knew them. One day while we were visiting with the Doolittles, my husband commented on their bright hopefulness and asked them for the secret of it. Mrs. Doolittle's reply was simple: "His eye is on the sparrow, and I know He watches me." The beauty of this simple expression of boundless faith gripped the hearts and fired the imagination of Dr. Martin and me. The hymn "His Eye Is on the Sparrow" was the outcome of that experience."
Mark and I have had a few conversations about his upcoming departure and how I am going to survive without him here. His responses and prayers are perfect examples of the hopefulness and boundless faith described here.
Praying for you and your sweet family! He has you all in His hands.
ReplyDeleteEmma, do you know who Elisabeth Elliot is? Read about her on Wikipedia or her own website. I admire her more than any woman in Christian ministry I've ever heard or read. Marnie met her once, on the Five Islands dock when it seemed that Hilary would surely die - late summer of '98. Ask Marnie about that sometime.
ReplyDeleteI mention her because your post reminded me of something I heard her say on her radio program. I went to her archives and found it. Be sure to read her next little essay re: DIY wedding vows. :o).
http://www.elisabethelliot.org/newsletterarchive.html
Maybe reading her archived writings will be a comfort to you while Mark's gone. She certainly knows what loneliness is.
Love, G'mama