Monday, January 19, 2009

in the footsteps of ruth

i found myself chocking over the words of this song while i was reading it, well, since i didn't know how it was sung.

my friends and i decided to surprise a fellow church mate with a little song tribute as a going away present for her. she is to fly out to taiwan this week to attend the same bible academy my cousin attends in anaheim, only her's will be based in taipei. though we are pretty sure we will be seeing her again, it would be a good long time till we do, since, i hear she will also try to find a job there. being the only christian in a devout buddhist family, this was a little "consuelo de bobo" she had to give her family since, they did not really give her their blessings for leaving.

hearing of her situation and seeing how she stuck to her decision despite it being the "harder" choice and her willingness to pay the price for it made me look at myself again and wonder, what i have done lately that have made me fight for my beliefs?

the look on her face as we sang this song to her showed that though she still had many fears, many hardships, many hurdles to overcome in taking this way, that no hindrance was too great to keep her from knowing, pursuing, and running after her lord.

God speed, sister. i pray i too can one day have such great of a faith.

He Knows by Mary G. Brainard (c. 1869)
  1. I know not what awaits me,
    God kindly veils my eyes,
    And o'er each step of my onward way
    He makes new scenes to rise;
    And every joy He sends me comes
    A sweet and glad surprise.

    • Where He may lead I'll follow,
      My trust in Him repose;
      And every hour in perfect peace,
      I'll sing, "He knows, He knows";
      And every hour in perfect peace,
      I'll sing, "He knows, He knows."

  2. One step I see before me,
    'Tis all I need to see,
    The light of heaven more brightly shines
    When earth's illusions flee;
    And sweetly through the silence comes,
    His loving, "Trust in Me!"

  3. Oh, blissful lack of wisdom,
    'Tis blessed not to know;
    He holds me with His own right hand,
    And will not let me go,
    And lulls my troubled soul to rest
    In Him who loves me so.

  4. So on I go not knowing;
    I would not if I might;
    I'd rather walk in the dark with God
    Than go alone in the light;
    I'd rather walk by faith with Him
    Than go alone by sight.

* * * *

the last stanza was exceptionally touching. i actually wanted to offer it to a friend whom i was "nursing" but didn't know how to offer it. eventually, i simply sang it as a silent prayer, to my friend and to myself. i believe the same God we share will hear it anyway.

7 comments:

gentle said...

fare well, dear friend of jamie, fare well.

Reena said...

i have a chinese friend who is both practicing buddhism and christianity. i thought that's allowed in your religion. anyway, i wish her good luck!

Reena said...

oh, i hope you dont mind, but i read your old entries. hmm...

jamie da vinci! said...

@gentle. thanks :)

@reena. my faith dictates that you cannot serve two masters. though many buddha can tolerate polytheism, my God is very seloso :)

and i don't mind you reading them. not at all.

Anonymous said...

Here's the link to one of the tunes for that song....

http://www.hymnal.net/hymn.php?t=nt&n=711

VICTOR said...

I sometimes miss believing in Christianity alone, the rigors of following a single faith. But I am more convinced now that there are many ways to serve a single God. Just a thought.

A.Dimaano said...

The last 2 lines of the last stanza is beautiful.