Life of Praise

"Let everything that breathes praise the Lord! Praise the Lord!"  Psalm 150:6 NRSV 

We've talked about the difference in the 'territory' between chronic illness and our lives before chronic illness. I continue to be amazed/surprised/encouraged as I look at scripture and see that God's Word speaks to our lives wherever we are in different tones and meanings. It is an experience that reminds me often that we call the Bible God's LIVING Word, as it continues to interact and touch our lives no matter what we are facing.

In the past, I understood the word "praise" as something I would do when I was joyful.  Praise was a noun-  a 'thing' that I gave to God when I was grateful or happy.  Going through bouts of chronic  illness and the waves of physical feelings as well as emotional feelings that happen in a day, I have found it much more difficult to think of praise as a 'thing' I give to God...and even more difficult many days to actually PRAISE God.  I would wait until I felt 'better' to praise God in my PCI (Pre-Chronic Illness) life. 

In the past months, I've started to see praise as the verb it is.  I've also started to get a glimpse that praise is a choice that we can make even when we don't particularly 'feel' like it.  Recently I've also begun to sense that praise isn't just something we do, but it is something we are...something we live out with our very lives.  The words of  Casting Crowns' song  "Lifesong"  speak to that:


"Empty hands held high
Such small sacrifice
If not joined with my life
I sing in vain tonight

May the words I say
And the things I do
Make my lifesong sing
Bring a smile to You

Let my lifesong sing to You
Let my lifesong sing to You
I want to sign Your name to the end of this day
Knowing that my heart was true
Let my lifesong sing to You

Lord I give my life
A living sacrifice
To reach a world in need
To be Your hands and feet

Let my lifesong sing to You
Let my lifesong sing to You
I want to sign Your name to the end of this day
Knowing that my heart was true
Let my lifesong sing to You"


When I heard this song before I thought of active ways to be the hands and feet of Jesus, like helping the hungry or visiting the sick. One of the challenges for this brain of mine is to start seeing different ways of serving and praising God. As I ponder new ways to let my "lifesong" sing, I want to offer these thoughts:  as we embrace and live the life we have today to the best of our ability, we praise God.  As we do the things that help us not lose ground on our health, (but maybe don't give huge improvements) we praise God.  As we rise each morning with courage to face the day no matter what it brings, we let our lifesong sing.  As we look to find things to cheer and encourage us each day, we let our lifesong sing.  As we pray, cry out in pain or frustration, and trust our good and bad days to God's care we let our lifesong sing.

Others may look at those efforts and not understand, but that's kind of the point, isn't it?  Life with chronic illness can be more challenging and more demanding (even in the little tasks) than many people have the eyes to see.  Because they can move easily, or not be completely sidelined by a weather system, or not be dropped to their knees by a nightmare, or insomnia, or a fluctuation in brain chemicals, they also may not see what an act of life and praise it can be to simply go through a day. 

But God sees.  God knows what challenges you and I face.  God understands that taking a shower some days is more effort than we have, or that the choice between using energy for one thing over another is a real choice.  God sees, and I believe that when we keep taking one more step, one more choice to care for ourselves, and when we wake up fighting illness back one more day God knows the courage, the faith and the trust it takes for us to do it, and God hears the very song of praise from our life itself. God hears the prayers and cries of frustration as we live in relationship with the God of our life, and God hears us.

How will our lifesong sing today?  Can you listen for your own lifesong to God? And appreciate it?  My hunch is that God hears and values our lifesong very much.

Dear Lord, as we learn to see faith and life differently in the territory of chronic illness, also help us to be open to new understandings of praising you. May our very 'lifesong' sing to you today. Amen.

ps- two video versions of Lifesong follow in case you want to hear this beautiful song.