The Never Ending Love song

We are blessed to live in the south-east area of our city right at the location where the city streets end and the winding country roads begin.  One thing that makes this place special is that even during the busiest times of the day, traffic and its accompanying noises are still at a minimum flow.  This morning at 5:15, as I laid in bed, traffic was non-existent!  The only sounds that broke the last vestiges of the morning still before the birds started their pre-dawn symphony was the dog’s quiet snoring and the tick of the wall clock downstairs in our living room.  As I basked in the quiet solitude, my mind returned to my recent thoughts on the Lord’s music and I heard the phrase: “The never ending love song.”

As a young man in love would sing a song of endearment to his sweetheart under her window at night (I never did this as Piper’s parents live in a secluded area and her Dad might have thought I was an intruder – not that I didn’t consider the idea though!), the Lord’s never ending love song is the melody that is filled with His intentions of love toward you and me that He is singing constantly to us.  It is the song that will break through the tensions, pains and concerns of our daily lives and fill us with His peace and love that transcends all of our human knowledge and understanding.  (See: Ephesians 3:19 and Philippians 4:7).  All we have to do is listen for the song and then yield ourselves to the words that He is giving to us.

As I rolled this over in my mind, I thought of a couple of vivid examples of His never ending love song that was sung personally to me.  The first was a time at work not too long after we had returned to California a few years back.  I had been able to transfer with Home Depot from my position as a Receiving Manager in Oklahoma to that of supervisor of a team within the relatively newly formed Merchandising Execution Team (MET) in division 30, in the North Bay area of California.  This group covered nine stores in five different counties and was divided into two groups.  In order to take the position I had to agree to work with the southern team which serviced the stores just north and south of San Francisco.  (There are currently no Home Depots in San Francisco).  As my wife was still able to care for herself at that time, I accepted the position with the understanding that I could move to the northern group when a position opened up.  The travel time to and from the southern stores normally averaged an additional three hours to my work day, and since work started at 5:00 am, I normally had to be up by 2:30 each morning.

On one particular Friday we were scheduled to work the San Rafael store which meant I could “sleep in” since this location was only 45 minutes from home.  Being as it was the end of the week though, I was still quite exhausted from the rigors of the 12 hour days at work and the added responsibilities of my wife’s growing needs.  Upon my arrival, as I groggily walked through the building materials section at the far end of the mostly empty store (they don’t open until 6:00 am), I absent-mindedly began singing along with the music that was coming over the store PA.  After a few moments I suddenly snapped to and realized that they were playing a familiar contemporary Christian song that I had been listening to on a Christian station in my car.  (Believe me… it was quite unusual for a blatantly Christian song to be played on the in-store system!) It was like God was singing that song just to me in order to confirm His faithfulness and love for me.  It was better than a cup of coffee or any energy drink and it lasted throughout the day without any side effects. (except for joy and a new found purpose and strength that had been sorely lacking when I left the house!)  2 Kings 3:15 tells of a similar experience when Elisha the prophet told the King of Israel to “get me someone to play some music.  While the musician was playing the Lord’s power came over Elisha.”  (God’s Word ©)

The second memory occurred just last night after dinner.  This time in the evening is when it seems like I can finally relax from all the responsibilities of the day.  Usually it is when my wife and I sit down on the couch with desert and watch a little TV.  The last couple of nights had been a little unusual though, as my wife was feeling quite energetic and kept getting up and walking around the room.  (Which is actually a good sign as she has been a lot more active and alert for the past 2-3 weeks.)  The only problem is that I was very tired and looking forward to the respite.  I was trying to help her to eat her desert (as she needs to keep up her calorie count), so every time she arose I had to bring her gently back to the couch and then continue with the partaking of the food.  Finally after about three or for repetitions of this act, I began to feel exasperated and sorry for myself and just kind of threw up my arms, laid my head on the back of the couch and said “forget it!”

While I was sitting there for a few moments basking in self pity, my wife quietly came up behind me, took my head in her hands and looked into my eyes with her beautiful brown eyes and a big smile and began to hum a song in tune to the music that was playing on the movie we were attempting to watch.  The look on her sweetly freckled face and the sincerity of her motives instantly melted my heart, as we locked our gaze and the tears began to appear.  Once again, it was as if the Lord was singing His song of His never ending love toward my wife and I.

When is the last time that you heard Him sing that song to you?  Maybe this weekend would be the perfect time to relax and listen for His never ending love song that He has composed just for you!  Have a good weekend.  Stay in tune to His Word (and His music…) and keep asking yourself… “What am I expecting today?”