There is a river

Yesterday a friend asked me to go with her to Koorong, so we met in the city and set off. In almost five years in Sydney I have never been to Koorong, so it was an adventure for me (in more ways than one as it turned out). I had two books in mind: Did I Kiss Marriage Goodbye? - Trusting God with a Hope Defered by Carolyn McCulley. Yes, embarrassing to admit it (and I don't like the title!), but I do read Carolyn's blog, Solo Femininity, regularly and find it really quite encouraging, so decided to get the book (and who am I kidding - if that book isn't to be read by people like me, then who is it for?). The second book was When the Darkenss Will Not Lift by John Piper, because it looks interesting. I wandered about picking up lots of other books, going through the cooling off period and putting them all back again, except one (I'm proud of myself - today I picked up 15 book cartons for packing and feel like I could almost concede that there is such a thing in the world as too many books!). All of the more hefty theology went back - will be more deliberate about buying or borrowing those at a time when I think I will read them. My friend was after music so I wandered in there too and found "Good Monsters" by Jars of Clay going really cheap with the further sale discount so I added that to my pile. I really like the music of Jars of Clay generally, but often find their lyrics a little lacking or too obscure and have delayed getting this album. But on it is the song below. The lyrics on their own are perhaps a little melancholy, but they come with a compulsive foot-tapping tune and the result is a really uplifting, hopeful song. I like it (though don't know that I concur that all of our tears are wages for things we've done).

There Is A River

There is a river that washes you clean

There is a tree that marks the places you've been

Blood that was spilled, although not your own,

For all of your tears are the wages for things you have done

And all of those nights

Spent alone in the darkness of your mind

Give it up, Let go

These are things you were never meant to shoulder

There is a river that washes you clean

There is a tree that marks the places you've been

Blood that was spilled, although not your own

For all of those tears, love will atone

So, give up the right

To control the waves that empty out your life

Above wild skies

Are the rays that break the shadows we design

Give it up, let go

These are things you were never meant to shoulder

Give it up, let go

There is a river that washes you clean

There is a tree that marks the places you've been

Blood that was spilled, although not your own

For all of those things, love will atone

I know the world can turn in different ways

Most of the time, we're simply hanging on

And under the signs of how we all behave

We might find the place that we belong

There is a river that washes you clean

There is a tree that marks the places you've been

Blood that was spilled, although not your own

For all of these things, love will atone

For all of those nights, that you cried all alone

All of your tears, love will atone