How He loves me....

David Crowder: How He Loves

Songwriter: John Mark McMillan

I love this song.

I love that when I hear it, I think of the great love that the Lord of creation had for my family during the hardest moments of our lives. 

I remember sitting in a waiting room with my mom (just two days after she was diagnosed with breast cancer) waiting to hear the results of my Dad’s test.  I remember hearing the doctor describe the cancerous mass that was wrapped around his aorta and trying to focus on the details in every word he spoke.  I remember holding my mom’s hand tight and making an intentional effort to control my breathing and stay calm.  I remember quickly processing all the things that were about to happen and those that now, never would.  

“When all of a sudden, I was unaware of these afflictions eclipsed by glory and I realize just how beautiful you are and how great your affections are for me…..”

In that moment, I realized that I was going to have to make a choice.   A choice to crumble under the hardest and most unimaginable time in my life or a choice to live out the things I had always claimed to believe as a Christian. Charles Colson once said, "Life isn't like a book. Life isn't logical or sensible or orderly. Life is a mess most of the time AND theology must be lived in the midst of that mess."  This was my time to “live it”!

I remember talking with my mom about the reality of the situation and beginning to pray that God would protect our hearts.  Although I wanted to seek God in every situation, I was devastated and simply began asking Him to reveal himself to me instead!  I am thankful that He graciously answered yes to that prayer, at every turn.

“And oh, how He loves us oh,… “

The only thing that made the next few weeks of my life easier was the simple truth that God loves my Dad even more than I do.  I knew that God was with us in each moment and that he would be with each of us, separately, in the future.

“Oh, how He loves us, how He loves us all…”

I love this song.

I love that when I hear it, I think of the great love that the Lord of creation had for my Dad in his final hours.

I love that when I hear it, I can imagine Jesus meeting him at his bedside and walking him through the valley towards home. 

Tommy Hendricks

July 8, 1950 – February 13, 2009