DON'T GIVE UP ON ME

       St. Patrick used Celtic symbols like a Celtic knot to explain God’s love. In the same way Christians today can take secular love songs and use them to remind us of God’s love. I have done just that throughout my ministry with teens and families and even for myself personally. I have taken songs that are heard on secular radio stations and placed a Christian thought on the words of the song. That happened to me when I heard DON’T GIVE UP ON ME by Andrew Gramer.

      Not soon after the Uvalde shooting a friend of mine sent me the YouTube video of Gramer singing the song with students. I cried as I watched it. I found a YouTube with the words of the song and watched that one and cried again as I imagined Jesus stepping into my great grief and sadness saying to me, and to all of us…

No matter what this world will throw. It won’t shake me [Jesus] loose. I’ll reach my

hands out in the dark and wait for yours to interlock. I’ll wait for you. 

Jesus waits and invites us to reach out our hands to His. He will pull us out of the deep waters
and into His arms as he says to us…

Cause I’m not giving up, I’m not giving up not yet,

Even when I’m down to my last breath. Even when they say there’s nothing left.

So don’t give up on….

I’m not giving up, I’m not giving up, no not me.

Even when nobody else believes. I’m not going down that easily.

So don’t give up on me.

For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son who says to us….

I’ll fight for you. I always will until my heart is black and blue.

I’ll stay with you. We’ll make it through the other side as lovers do.

I recently read a prayer by Henri Nowen on https://henrinouwen.org which explains the imagery of lover: 

Dear Lord, Today I thought of the words of Vincent van Gogh: “It is true there is an ebb and flow, but the sea remains the sea.” You are the sea. Although I experience many ups and downs in my emotions and often feel great shifts and changes in my inner life, you remain the same. Your sameness is not the sameness of a rock, but the sameness of a faithful lover. Out of your love I came to life, by your love I am sustained, and to your love I am always called back. There are days of sadness and days of joy; there are feelings of guilt and feelings of gratitude; there are moments of failure and moments of success; but all of them are embraced by your unwavering love. . . . O Lord, sea of love and goodness, let me not fear too much the storms and winds of my daily life, and let me know there is ebb and flow but the sea remains the sea. Amen.

I love the imagery of God's love is the same; "Not the sameness of a rock, but the sameness of a faithful lover. Out of your love I came to life, by your love I am sustained, and to your love I am always called back."  In our Sacramental Marriage of over 40 years my husband and I have had ebbs and flows.  There have been days of sadness and days of joy; there have been feelings of guilt and feelings of gratitude; there have been moments of failure and moments of success; but all of them have been embraced by God's unwavering love of us and is at the center of our love for one another.  Francis and my love is just an imagery of God's love.  

Our love is not perfect, like God's love is perfect.  But we strive to live out the mystery of being one flesh.  We pray that we "mirror" God's love to one another.  The days we do we celebrate as "Bullseye days".  Some times we even have Bullseye weeks!  Hitting the Bullseye is not easy.  It requires diligent prayer, time together and intention.  I can honestly say as we enter our 40th decade of marriage it gets easier to hit the Bullseye on a more regular basis.  Maybe because I am less focused on trying to change Francis to be more like me ☺and more focused, noticing and naming how he lives out his life striving to be who God is calling him to be each day.  I pray that peace beyond all understanding and many bullseyes moments for all those who are married!  

Don't Give Up on Me by Andrew Gramer