"I Can Only Imagine"...

"...will I stand in your presence, or to my knees will I fall.  Will I sing Hallelujah, will I be able to speak at all...?  I Can Only Imagine"

Ten years has passed  since Bart from the Christian rock band Mercy Me wrote that song.  Every time I hear this song, I still tend to tear up a little. It's probably one of Mercy Me's best known and requested songs.    I chose not to have this song played at my son's memorial, not because I do not love it or Mercy Me. The songs I chose were very personal for Tim and spoke more of his time on Earth and the hope we can have in Jesus rather than Heaven itself.   Now that I am reflecting on all this as I am writing, maybe I wasn't ready to even think about Tim actually being in Heaven, away from me.  I most certainly was in a different state of mind for many days and it took deliberate thought, considerable thought, to finally begin to picture and acknowledge Tim actually there in Heaven.

  I knew he was saved.  I knew God had given me a gift before Tim  was unable to communicate with me. It was the tiniest bit of change in my spirit everyday with the Comforter indwelling within me that began to transform my thinking to where  my whole life began taking  on a more eternal perspective.  Today this song has even more meaning.  What do you imagine it will be like when we actually encounter God, to stand next to Jesus?    Will we be able to speak at all?  Can we imagine ourselves to have that same kind of awe, that same healthy "fear of the Lord" as we walk this walk here on Earth?  How different we might be if Jesus stood behind us while we were getting ready for work in the morning, while we were in line for our morning latte's, while we were complaining about some dumb thing a family member did, while we were making unhealthy choices.  The thing is...if you are His Child...He is standing next to you...we can encounter His love,  mercies and grace every day. Let's not just imagine what it would be like...(in Heaven)... Let's live with eternal perspective today, making our life and those around us more "heavenly."

I am sharing this blog with some other links for  "Momentous Monday".  I thank God for two radio stations filled with  positive Christian music that we as a family listen to.  My husband, Ted,  is a freeway traveler, sometimes having a 2-3 hour commute home with traffic.  It is never fun.  He listens loyally to his two radio stations and always is relaying a new song to me he likes.

 One particular afternoon he came home to tell me that he had heard that  Mercy Me had an e-mail campaign for their song "I Can Only Imagine."  He told me the web address and I logged on to see Bart's U-Tube video asking for families or friends to send in pictures of themselves holding up pictures of their loved ones who have gone on to be with God.  The plan was to use these pictures in their concert production.  So, Ted and I got Timmy's large picture we have on the shelf in the living room and Corey snapped a few takes.  I picked the best one and attached to the e-mail and sent it in.  Last Friday, Ted and I and another couple, his x-boss,  Brent and Claudia went to the Rock and Worship Road Show here locally.

 The featured star performers were Mercy Me.  About the fourth song in, Bart stopped to explain the video that would be playing behind him as he sang "I Can Only Imagine."  Ted and I did not know if Tim's picture would be shown, after all Bart said their were close to 1000 e-mailed.  As we watched the screen, sure enough there it was, right in the middle frame, Ted and I holding our son Tim's picture while Bart sang.  This was my momentous moment last week and I thank Mercy Me for honoring all of the families and inspiring us with their music.

John 6:27  "Do not work for the food which perishes  but for the food which endures to eternal life, which the Son of Man shall give you, for on Him the Father, even God, has set his seal."