By Amy Meyer from Neighboring Life
I was pleasantly surprised by what God did with me during and after my experience being a guest on the Next Step Podcast. I was asked to be a guest along with Pat Maier on the Light in the Darkness series discussing the hymn Infant Holy, Infant Lowly. It was a lot of fun to discover the similarities that Pat and I have in our love for journaling and being intentional about praying for our neighbors.
We recorded the episode on a Tuesday afternoon, and two days later I would drive to Tennessee to be with my mom and visit my dad in the hospital. I had printed off the hymn and the coloring sheet and tucked them in my journal not knowing how God would use them to be a blessing to me again and again.
When we were visiting Dad in the hospital, he was not able to finish his thoughts or carry on much of a conversation. My mom and I both like to sing, and so we started singing familiar Christmas carols for Dad. We went through quite a few different ones, and then I pulled out the lyrics to Infant Holy, Infant Lowly and sang that one for him.
A wave of peace washed over me as I looked into my dad’s eyes and sang, “Thus rejoicing, free from sorrow, praises voicing, greet the morrow: Christ the Babe was born for you! Christ the Babe was born for you!”
I found myself repeating those lyrics over and over as I drove back home. Over the next couple of weeks, I put it at the bottom of emails I sent to people before Christmas: “Christ the Babe was born for you.” Those words reminded me just how personal and intimate the gift of Jesus is for each of us.
Then I received an email from Justin Rossow from Next Step Press with a copy of the final podcast so I could listen and share it. As I read the notes about Pat included in our episode, I saw the website for Visual Faith™ Ministry. I knew about this ministry but had never been on their website before, so I took a look.
The next thing I knew I was listening to the recorded Bible study from March of 2021 about Abiding. They were taking a look at Psalm 91, the very part of Scripture that I was looking at earlier in the day.
Whoever dwells in the shelter of the Most High
will rest in the shadow of the Almighty.
I will say of the Lord, “He is my refuge and my fortress,
my God, in whom I trust.”
Surely he will save you
from the fowler’s snare
and from the deadly pestilence.
He will cover you with his feathers,
and under his wings you will find refuge;
his faithfulness will be your shield and rampart.
You will not fear the terror of night,
nor the arrow that flies by day,
nor the pestilence that stalks in the darkness,
nor the plague that destroys at midday.
Psalm 91:1-6 (NIV)
God knew that I needed to hear those words again and soak in that promise a little longer. I was reminded of the beautiful image of nestling under the wings of God in a safe and warm place, like a mother hen with her chicks. And I smiled at how God uses different people in different places to bring His message to the world.
It reminded me that God is always working: sometimes we don’t see it, and sometimes it is very obvious.
Regardless if we see it or we don’t, Jesus is working. Jesus sees you. He hears you. Jesus is with you. And He loves you.
I am grateful that I was asked to be on a podcast, and for the ripple effect of blessings that came from saying yes. What a delightful surprise.
Amy Meyer is cofounder of Neighboring Life, an online community launching in 2022 to help us imagine neighborhoods where every person belongs, where every person knows they matter, and everyone has a contribution to make, a story to share.
Blest to be a blessing!