I meant to post this a long time ago, but I didn't ever do it.
I helped my dad lead a church service at a nursing home because Ch1k3n wasn't there. I read the verses he assigned me to read.
This was one of them-- Isaiah 43 1-3.
And when I first read it, it just hit me, cause I recognized it as the lyrics to the most important song in my life, the one that stands out the most.
It's the one that brings back the moment that I miss the most.
Here's the verse--
1 But now, this is what the LORD says—
he who created you, Jacob,
he who formed you, Israel:
“Do not fear, for I have redeemed you;
I have summoned you by name; you are mine.
2 When you pass through the waters,
I will be with you;
and when you pass through the rivers,
they will not sweep over you.
When you walk through the fire,
you will not be burned;
the flames will not set you ablaze.
Recognize that?
If you do, then you know that it was the Senior Song two years ago. If you don't, then this will mean nothing to you.
Seventh grade was the best year of my life. And the seniors played a big part in that. I don't know why, but somehow they because a group that inspired me, that impacted me in ways I couldn't have imagined. Their diversity that, when combined, made everyone the same... something about that just hit me.
Maybe because they were the senior class in the first year I was in secondary.
And the whole song just somehow hit me in the heart, too. The melody and the words... I just miss it so much.
I will never forget that moment at the seventh grade retreat when everyone was taking their showers, and Nikki and I sat on my bed and sang songs. It was mostly her singing, I just kind of tagged along quietly. I remember that my hair was still wet and I had my brown duck towel draped on my back. I was sitting in a position where my chin was on my knees. I was kind of looking towards the ground. The light was a warm glow, and I wasn't really focusing in on seeing everything, because I knew that it was a moment that I would never forget.
The sound of Nikki's singing was engraving itself in my mind. At that moment, the two seniors that were in the cabin with us turned in our direction and asked each other quietly, "Who's singing?"
I don't really remember anything after that. But that is the memory that hits me at heart the most...
I never want to forget it.
