comfort

I Will Arise and Go To Jesus

Come ye sinners, poor and needy
Weak and wounded, sick and sore
Jesus ready stands to save you
Full of pity, love and power

I will arise and go to Jesus;
He will embrace me in his arms;
In the arms of my dear Savior,
There are ten thousand charms

Come ye thirsty, come and welcome,
God's free bounty glorify
True belief and true repentance,
Every grace that brings You nigh

Come ye weary, heavy-laden
Bruised and ruined by the Fall
If you tarry 'til you're better
You will never come at all

I will arise and go to Jesus;
He will embrace me in his arms;
In the arms of my dear Savior,
There are ten thousand charms.
------

I have never sung this song without tears pouring down my face.

When my daughter is hurt or frightened - she wears her pain and her fears all
across her face, without shame.  Her emotions are genuine, and she makes no
apology for it.  No thought crosses her mind that she might pretend to feel any
other way.  She is not compelled to put on a brave face or to "suck it up."  No
embarrassment exists for the intensity of her feelings. Her face crumples, tears
flow freely... and then she arises and comes to me, or to her daddy, arms
outstretched.  She knows she will find comfort in our embrace, and she gladly settles
herself against her parents.  She is safe, and she is loved.

The image of my daughter - full of pure emotion, and equally full of pure trust -
seeking me for comfort... and knowing that I would drop everything to be her
safety... it's so compelling.

Jesus loves me like that.  And there are days when all I want is to be little
again - to be unashamed of my emotion, to feel it unnecessary to be any
stronger than I actually am... and to simply walk, arms outstretched,  into the
embrace of someone bigger, someone who loves me unconditionally and wholly...

And while there are days when I find myself a tiny bit jealous of Hazel and a
tiny bit weary of my adult-ness, my responsibilities, and my self-consciousness...
while I do occasionally wish I could have a real, human pair of arms wrapped
around me that way... I am so incredibly grateful to have the love of my Jesus. 
Even though He cannot physically sit on my couch, wipe the tears off my face
and hold my head against His shoulder...

I have never sung this song without crying.