Owl City - In Christ Alone (I Stand)

 

Something about this song always just makes me want to cry. Such amazing, powerful lyrics.

In Christ alone, my hope is found

He is my light, my strength, my song

This cornerstone, this solid ground

Firm through the fiercest drought and storm

 
What heights of love, what depths of peace

When fears are stilled, when strivings cease

My comforter, my all-in-all

Here in the love of Christ I stand

There in the ground His body lay

Light of the world by darkness slain

Then bursting forth in glorious day

Up from the grave He rose again!
 
And as He stands in victory

Sin’s curse has lost its grip on me

For I am His and He is mine

Bought with the precious blood of Christ

No guilt in life, no fear in death

This is the power of Christ in me

From life’s first cry to final breath

Jesus commands my destiny

 
No power of hell, no scheme of man

Can ever pluck me from His hand

Till He returns or calls me home

Here in the power of Christ I’ll stand

Changes

Right now, my life is a whirlwind of change. Within the next 31 days I will: Graduate college, quit my job of three years, and move out of my home of three years. Then, I will step on board a plane that will take me away from my home, my family, and my country, not to come back for nearly five months. While I am away, my sister will give birth to her first child, my first nephew. You could say I feel a bit like Dorothy as she hurtles through the air in the clutches of a tornado, not knowing where it is taking her, but knowing when she lands, she'll be in a completely different world.

Let me be honest. I am absolutely terrified of the future. I don't like thinking ahead to six months from now and having absolutely no idea where I will be living, what job I will be doing, or even what I will be like. (I've heard a rumor that living in another country can change you a bit. I can't imagine why.) I can't even get 100 percent excited about graduating from college because, for as long as I can remember, I have been a student, but in 8 days I won't be able to call myself that anymore. So what am I then? Where do I go from here?

 I keep catching myself getting all wrapped up in worrying about things like this. (Not wrapped up like a Christmas present, but more like the person trying to untangle Christmas lights and instead getting tangled up in them). I try to lay out a plan for the future so that I know what to expect, and don't have to go into anything blindly. Here's the thing though; if I get so worked up about the future, I am burying myself so deep in worry that I can't see past it. In trying to gain sight, I lose it.

So now it begs the question, what CAN I do about the future? What CAN I do to prepare for change if I'm not able to map out the perfect plan of action? The answer is: Trust. Trust in the One who not only knows the future, but is in control of it. Trust in the One who, when I bury myself in a mountain of worry and stress, will be holding onto me tightly and leading me out of the darkness to where I need to go.

I am so grateful to have a heavenly Father who is there for me. I am in awe that He would choose to send me to South America to be a witness to those there who don't know Him personally. I am humbled by the way that He has provided for me in so many ways to make that trip possible (which is a story I would LOVE to share with anyone who wants to hear it).

I am blessed. I am significantly insignificant.