One Little Word 2015

abide

Abide with me; fast falls the eventide; 
The darkness deepens; Lord with me abide. 
When other helpers fail and comforts flee, 
Help of the helpless, abide with me.

Thou on my head, in early youth didst smile; 
And, though rebellious, and perverse meanwhile, 
Thou hast not left me, though I oft left Thee, 
On to the close Lord, abide with me.

I need Thy presence, every passing hour. 
What but Thy grace, can foil the tempter's power? 
Who, like Thyself, my guide and stay can be? 
Through cloud and sunshine, abide with me.

I fear no foe, with Thee at hand to bless 
Ills have no weight, tears lose their bitterness 
Where is thy sting death? Where grave thy victory? 
I triumph still, abide with me.

Hold Thou Thy cross, before my closing eyes; 
Shine through the gloom, and point me to the skies. 
Heaven's morning breaks, and earth's vain shadows flee; 
In life, in death, Lord, abide with me.

This hymn spoke to me during my times of deepest despair. I couldn't sit through it at church some Sundays without crying. Sometimes I let the words wash over me, and sometimes I had to flee to the privacy of the bathroom. And while those days are past, this hymn and this word, abide, have stayed with me. 

Those who've kept up with our family happenings on the blog over the years will know where this idea of One Little Word comes from. For those who are new, this is my version of resolutions for the new year. The word isn't prophetic; I have no idea what the year will look like. It tends to be more of an intention, something I'd like to embrace or see change in myself over the next twelve months. In years past, the words that I've picked have sometimes fit my year perfectly, and sometimes they haven't. The words tend to come to me in the shower, where all great thinking happens. 

My true intention for this next year is to delve deeper into prayer. To have a rich, meaningful, life-giving prayer life. I pray all day long, snippets here and there as events occur or thoughts pop into my head while I'm folding laundry and reading books to the littles and cleaning up the gazillionth mess that day. What I'm longing for, though, is to become a woman of prayer. To become one who knows how to pray, one who prays deeply, one who prays humbly, one who prays faithfully. Lord, teach me to abide. 

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