it’s been awhile i posted a blog about a song, but rise to the occasion i must.
becky introduced us to pavel (which is the romanian version of the name paul), a 15 year old young man, who suffers from bone cancer. becky brought him and his mother to stay at casa shalom yesterday while they’re in the city to get treatment and such at the hospital. from what i know, he’s had this cancer for awhile; his hip bone – his right one, i believe? – was one of the casualties in his battle. now his left leg, from the knee down, is at risk of being amputated because of the cancer.
we prayed last night for God to do His thang – to heal pavel. mostly, i was struck by pavel’s faith; we could hear it in the fervency of his prayers and the passion in his voice as he praised our heavenly father. i haven’t met many people quite as desperate for His touch.
earlier today pavel and mihaela, his mom, went to the hospital for tests. his leg, the one that’s still good, hurt a lot and we prayed again tonight. still, the same urgency resounded in his prayers, cries to take away his pain. still, he sang with such strength.
as we prayed, i remembered what day it was/is – friday; then i thought, “good friday.” you see, pavel’s going back to the hospital on sunday afternoon, after we go to church. it seemed to be that tomorrow would be a day for us to wait on Him, and on sunday, we’d discover that God’s healed pavel, the way the disciples found the tomb empty. i wasn’t sure if this parallel i was drawing between jesus and pavel was from me or God.
then becky invited us to share a word of encouragement. so i shared this thought, along with some thoughts from the parable of the persistent widow, with the group, prefacing it with the disclaimer that i’m not sure if it truly came from God. but brandon got the phrase “third day”, so there was one confirmation. then dan said that we’ll need to pray again tomorrow.
there’s a phrase from the song “valleys fill first” by caedmon’s call that’s always struck me: “and it’s like that long saturday after your death and the rising day”. . . i think tomorrow’s gonna be like that saturday.
pray with us. i can’t wait to see what happens on sunday. . .
here’s a snippet of “on the third day” by michael olson:
on the third day behold the King
on the third day death has no sting
on the third day we’re forgiven and reconciled
on the third day death has no sting
on the third day we’re forgiven and reconciled
on the third day the saints rejoice
on the third day we lift our voice
on the third day we’re united and glorified
and here’s the rest of the bridge from “valleys fill first”:
and it’s like that long saturday
after Your death and the rising day
when no one wrote a word,
wondered is this the end
but You were down there in the well,
saving those that fell
bringing them to the mountain again
after Your death and the rising day
when no one wrote a word,
wondered is this the end
but You were down there in the well,
saving those that fell
bringing them to the mountain again
