11.3.2012...

"How He Loves" - David Crowder Band

He is jealous for me, Loves like a hurricane, I am a tree,
Bending beneath the weight of his wind and mercy.
When all of a sudden, I am unaware of these afflictions eclipsed by glory,
And I realize just how beautiful You are,
And how great Your affections are for me.

And oh, how He loves us so
Oh how He loves us,
How He loves us all

He is jealous for me, Loves like a hurricane, I am a tree,
Bending beneath the weight of his wind and mercy.
When all of a sudden, I am unaware of these afflictions eclipsed by glory,
And I realize just how beautiful You are,
And how great Your affections are for me.

He loves us,
Oh how He loves us,
Oh how He loves us,
Oh how He loves

We are His portion and He is our prize
Drawn to redemption by the grace in His eyes
If grace is an ocean, we're all sinking
So Heaven meets earth like an unforeseen kiss
And my heart turns violently inside of my chest
I don't have time to maintain these regrets
When I think about the way

And oh, how He loves us
Oh how He loves us,
How He loves us so
how he loves


i first heard this song a few years ago at jacob's well...it spoke to me instantly, helping me realize just how deep His love for me is...opening my eyes to the absolute power of that love and ultimately helped me see that if He can love me so completely, how can i not give the same to others?

i love so many lines in this song...
"when all of a sudden, i am unaware of these afflictions eclipsed by glory, and i realize just how beautiful You are, and how great Your affections are for me."...
"drawn to redemption by the grace in His eyes"...
"so heaven meets earth like an unforeseen kiss"...
"i don't have time to maintain these regrets"...
"how He loves..."



and then, i read this...

"i loved you at your darkest." - romans 5:8 (confession: i saw this on pinterest and after looking it up, i can't find it exactly like this - not even in The Message - but, it is a very simple, very comforting interpretation of the actual scripture so i'm gonna go with it)

"i loved you at your darkest." six very simple words. i have been loved at my darkest. when i felt nothing else, when there was nowhere to turn, when nothing made sense....i. was. loved. i have always said i believe God demonstrates His love for us by the people he surrounds us with...they are His arms, His words, His comfort. i felt that for the first time when we lost carter....people who never even got to meet him were right there. always. since then my eyes have been open to these experiences, to see Him "there" when i feel most alone...in my darkest moments. and i've learned how to be a better friend to others at the same time.

i often think i feel too much. i care too much. i love too much. i say this because, with these things, comes the ability to get hurt. i sometimes wish i had more of an "i don't care" attitude, that i could somehow just shut it all down and truly not care, not feel, not...love. but, then i hear that song, read those words...and i realize He never shuts down when i need Him, never gives up because it's too hard to love me, never holds back with what He gives me, never stops reminding me of how much He loves me. and, if i want to be more like Him, then i have to give in to who He created me to be...as a friend once told me "you are the perfect you, the perfect faith".