God gave me a song. Throughout my life, there have been songs that have been special or carried meaning for God and I, but this was my first experience with God saying, Becky, this is my song to you.
The song is Atlas: Daughter by Sleeping At Last and is sung from the perspective of father to daughter. I love the band Sleeping At Last and listen to them often, but when I first came across this song I only listened uncomfortably for a minute or so before skipping over it. I didn’t listen again until about seven months later in Madagascar when it began to play as my music was on shuffle and God said this is from me to you.
I want to be clear that I wasn’t uncomfortable with the song initially because of my relationship with my father. In fact, I was blessed with the best dad anyone could have. I realize now that my discomfort was with seeing myself in the light with which a father sees his daughter. The light in which God sees me. A father is meant to see his daughter with such love, grace, and even awe: that person is mine and I am overjoyed by who she is and what she brings to the world. A father is moved to celebrate his daughter. And this is the way God sees and celebrates me.
Here are some of the lyrics that I feel capture His perspective:
“If only you knew, the sunlight shines a little brighter, the weight of the world’s a little lighter, the stars lean in a little closer, all because of you.
I want to see you lift your chin a little higher, open your eyes a little wider, speak your mind a little louder, because you are royalty.
This is your kingdom, this is your crown, this is your story. This is your moment, don’t look down.
You’re ready, born ready, and all you gotta do is put one foot in front of you… if only you knew.
If only you knew, the forest grew a little greener, our roots reach in a little deeper, the birds all sing a little sweeter, all to welcome you.
I want to see your happily ever after, that you know in your heart that you matter, that you are royalty.”
God used a song to reveal to me what it truly means to be His daughter. The best way I can think to describe it is that there was a fog in my mind and heart that slowly but surely cleared as I listened to the truth daily in the form of song. If only you knew who you are, He says. I realized with fascination that the day I was born I was enough. I am royalty and God wrote the story I am living. God sees me as so incredibly valuable that He wants me to keep my chin up and share my opinion. He desperately wants me to truly live, my eyes wide open, to be fully alive in Him. I knew these things, so by realizing them, I mean I came alive to them. What used to be simply knowledge and memorization, is now living and breathing. The truth I used to avoid because it made me cringe now resonates in my heart.
I can’t tell you what it feels like to wake up in the morning knowing God thinks what I have to say and how I feel matters. He thinks every time I laugh and every time I tear up matters. And I’d say if God thinks it matters, it does. This is for all of us. You matter just the same, yes, because everyone matters, but YOU matter specifically. Let that sink in. I’m letting it sink in every day.
In all the different cultures and languages, in a world of inconsistencies, the Father’s heart is consistent. He felt this way for me long before I was born. The difference is I can see it more clearly now and it’s changing the way I live. As He takes me on this journey of seeing the world, He’s also taking me on a journey of seeing His heart, not only for the world, but for me. Not many truths have hit me quite as hard as what it means to be His daughter.
