My granddaughter’s favorite song while visiting this summer was Trading My Sorrows. We listened to it on repeat for several hours almost every day. She loved it. I had never heard it before her visit but once we found it on Spotify, it became a daily staple.
I liked the song but I loved hearing her sing it. At the top of her lungs, she sang every word. Or what she thought was every word. Sometimes she just listened while she danced around the room. At times she would wrinkle her cute little forehead as she tried to make out the words. Sometimes she made up her own words. Her favorite part of the song is when the chorus gets to, “Yes, Lord. Yes, Lord. Yes, yes, Lord.” She would wait for that part because she knew those words. She would yell them excitedly because those words were easy to hear and understand. Now, when we Facetime, she asks to sing the Yes, Lord song. There’s a lot of good stuff in the song. Lots of life lessons that would make great sermons but she remembers the only part she understands.
As we sang the song together one day, I thought about all the words she didn’t understand. All the concepts that one day will make sense but now too lofty for a toddler to grasp.
There are times like that in my life now and there were times in the disciples’ lives when they didn’t understand everything either. When Jesus told them to love their enemies, do good to those who curse them, or to turn the other cheek when they were accosted, that had to confuse his closest followers. When he calmed the storm, raised the dead, or treated a woman caught in adultery with respect, those around him shook their heads and wondered how this was happening. It didn’t make sense. Instead of overthrowing an evil empire, he gave himself to die for them and even though they didn’t understand, they continued to say, “Yes, Lord.”
There’s a lot we’re going through right now that makes no sense. What is happening with this Pandemic? Why is this election such a mess? Who can we trust? Why is all this happening? We may never understand but like an excited child who comprehends the smallest part, may we all continue to say, “Yes, Lord.”