The Lord is my strength and my song. Exodus 15:2
For the joy of the Lord is your strength. Nehemiah 8:10
You know her. You see her every Sunday and she routinely sings at both the 8:30 and 11:00 services. She is both impeccably dressed and stylishly coiffed, her silvery white hair gleaming. I call her the Queen of the blue Avalon.
What she does not tell us, but what we have come to know over many years, is that she lives with a daunting and potentially debilitating condition—not for the faint of heart. Yet she is perpetually an overcomer, one who is always focusing on how others in her realm are doing rather than on herself. And she has plenteous wit and humor like her tough, seafaring ancestors.
I do not need to measure my faithfulness against hers or bear guilt if I do not measure up. What I need to focus on is her generator. What keeps her going like the proverbial Timex that takes a licking and keeps on ticking? She draws from a deep, inexhaustible well of joy—the joy of the Lord. Our choir is so grateful for what we see and how transformative it can be. Roll on, blue Avalon.
UMH #369 BLESSED ASSURANCE (refrain)
This is my story, this is my song,
Praising my Savior all the day long;
This is my story, this is my song,
Praising my Savior all the day long.
Eloise Collins