The Lord Hears Our Cry

I waited patiently for the Lord; he turned to me and heard my cry. He lifted me out of the slimy pit, out of the mud and mire; he set my feet on a rock and gave me a firm place to stand. Psalm 40:1-2

Recently we have been spending time with friends from middle school and high school that we hadn’t seen for 20 years or more. Some play in a local band that we like to see. It has been interesting for us to discuss the last 25 years and the things that weren’t obvious to us in our youth. Things like how people’s home life really was, or who we looked up to and why, who had different talents, and what we expected to happen for people compared to how things actually turned out. 

Over the weekend we discussed a classmate who was a few years older than we were. In high school he suffered a hypoxic brain injury. I’m not sure of the cause.  Before the injury he was an amazing musician. His plan was to go into music as a career. Teaching. Performing. Writing. Living his dream. After his injury he could still play music, but the part of his brain that allowed him to read music didn’t retain his lifetime of learning to read it. He didn’t have the patience to relearn that skill and felt like his entire world had fallen apart. Brian told me that he thinks about him from time to time. The impact of losing his dreams and being unable to follow his passion. 

When we are in the “mud and mire” it can be hard to pull our way out. We might not know who to ask for help. We might even reject well-meaning offers for help.  We might feel as though we will never stand on solid ground again. I imagine that must have been the sensation for this young man. He could express himself through music. He could play beautifully the music that he had memorized and he was able to improvise musically on the instruments he played prior to his injury, but he was unable to learn new music. At least not through conventional teaching methods. His firm place was lost. 

Prayer: God who knows our pain, who works to remove us from the slimy pit and give us stability, please help us to see offers of help as a benefit. When we are struggling, help us to take the offers of stability. When we are afraid, please comfort us. Amen. 

Christi Moock