“So give me hope in the darkness that I will see the light”

You saw my pain, washed out in the rain
Broken glass, saw the blood run from my veins
But you saw no fault, no cracks in my heart
And you kneel beside my hope torn apart

But the ghosts that we knew will flicker from view
And we’ll live a long life

So give me hope in the darkness that I will see the light
Cause oh that gave me such a fright
But I will hold as long as you like 
Just promise me we’ll be alright
-“Ghosts That We Knew” by Mumford and Sons

As I sat in traffic on a crowded highway this week, I heard the new Mumford and Sons album “Babel” (which is as a great, if not better album, than their first). I found myself crying when I heard this song. One moment I was fine, the next, my face was damp. I credit the following verse for triggering this reaction:

So lead me back
Turn south from that place
And close my eyes from my recent disgrace
Cause you know my call
We’ll share my all

I don’t know much about Marcus Mumford, the lead singer of this band, but what I do know is that he is a preacher’s kid (like me). Most of his songs contain Christian allusions and hints of his background, and I found myself relating to a lot of the messages from the very first moment I heard “Sigh No More” from their debut record. Whether intentional or not, I think Mumford and Sons’ popularity in this generation is indicative of something deeper: their music hits a chord that King Solomon referred to as a cry for eternity in the book of Ecclesiastes. 

This last year has been the hardest I’ve known yet. My heart, mind and soul felt like they were taken hostage under a blanket of pain and despair. My faith was shaken more than it has ever been before. I asked myself: what happened to His promises? What happened to the call I felt from Him? Why did He allow these things to happen? I also related to Job more than ever and the questions he must have lifted up in the midst of his suffering: what should I do Lord?  Worship? Repent? Should I give up hope? Or wait?

While I am still in the process of processing it all, I do know one thing: God is good. He is faithful and unshaking even when our faith encounters the worst storms that threaten to tear down the walls of everything we hold dear. He holds our hearts still and remains the rock in all the uncertainty. He shares in our pain and offers His joy. Above all, He loves me. And He loves you. So don’t lose hope, I like to tell myself.

Don’t lose hope friends.

-Jael

(Source: Spotify, via sealedovermyheart)

LINCOLN trailer debuts

“Washington was a typical American. Napoleon was a typical Frenchman, but Lincoln was a humanitarian as broad as the world. He was bigger than his country - bigger than all the Presidents together.”-Doris  Kearns Goodwin

I’m extremely excited about this film, which is based on the biography of Abraham Lincoln, “Team of Rivals: the Political Genius of Abraham Lincoln” by Doris Kearns Goodwin. It is by far one the best books I have ever read in my life. Lincoln, the people in his life, and the charged context of the times come to life in Goodwin’s narrative. I hope the same will be true for this film, which is directed by Steven Spielberg and includes an excellent cast, with none other than method-actor Daniel Day Lewis as the legendary president. 

LINCOLN is in theaters November 9th, 2012 (Limited) and Nationwide November 16th, 2012.

-Jael