This evening, I looked at the wall of our prayer room and saw the photo of Mom and I dancing. That precious photo is back where it belongs, and the gratitude brought a flood of tears. Our prayer group had just ended with the last “amen”, and a quiet voice began to sing: There’s a sweet, sweet, spirit in this place, and I know that it’s the presence of the Lord. It’s the song God sent to my heart on the day I knew Mom was preparing to face the toughest battle of her life. We sang it on our way to chemo, through chemo, after chemo, and any other place we needed to experience that sweet peace. I sang it to her when she was in her last moments, close to heaven, but still able to hear the words that had brought us such comfort. This evening, the song had an even deeper meaning.
That dancing photo left our house at one point to hang on another wall. Many of you loved that photo, and have asked about it and where it was. What happened? I’m happy to say that it is back home in our prayer room where it will stay. Sweet angels who knew how special that photo was to me, realized it was missing, found it, and rescued it. My family prayed, and God answered.
As I sang the words to Sweet, Sweet Spirit and looked at the photo, I realized, again, that God cares about the small things as much as the big things. In fact, sometimes those small things are the big things. I would not trade what I’ve learned through the difficult journey of the last year. The joy on our faces in that photo reminds me that God often brings life back around–a full circle that shows us He is faithful to provide. He is a God of new beginnings. As we closed our prayer meeting, I thanked God for Mom’s legacy and how she prepared me for the closed doors this year, and fresh seasons of ministry. That was her heart. Ministry. She taught me to dance and laugh even as we walked through some of the most broken times of our lives. It’s been quite awhile since I’ve sung that song, but this evening, as I allowed the words to sink deeper into my soul, I know Mom was right there, singing along with me. Smiling from heaven.
There’s a sweet, sweet Spirit in this place,
And I know that it’s the Spirit of the Lord;
There are sweet expressions on each face,
And I know they feel the presence of the Lord.
Sweet Holy Spirit, Sweet heavenly Dove,
Stay right here with us, filling us with Your love.
And for these blessings we lift our hearts in praise;
Without a doubt we’ll know that we have been revived,
When we shall leave this place.
To listen to this heavenly song, just click this link: Sweet Sweet Spirit