Margaret Becker

Somewhere Along the Road

/ Ragamuffingospelfan / Leave a comment
“Joy at the start
Fear in the journey
Joy in the coming home
A part of the heart
Gets lost in the learning
Somewhere along the road
Along the road
Your path may wander
A pilgrim’s faith may fail
Absence makes the heart grow stronger
Darkness obscures the trail
Cursing the quest
Courting disaster
Measureless nights forebode
Moments of rest
Glimpses of laughter
Are treasured along the road
Along the road
Your steps may tumble
Your thoughts may start to stray
But through it all a heart held humble
Levels and lights your way
Joy at the start
Fear in the journey
Joy in the coming home
A part of the heart
Gets lost in the learning
Somewhere along the road
Somewhere along the road
Somewhere along the road” (Dan Fogelberg).
Recently, I found the original recording of this song that I had been searching for a long, long time. I first heard a cover by a trio of Christian artists who did an album together: Margaret Becker, Christine Dente, and Susan Ashton from way back in 1994.
I do think that along life’s journey, none of us gets through unscathed. We all experience heartaches, loss, sadness, and griefs. No one is exempt from the dark clouds of life’s storms.
I also think that just as the pain that leads to childbirth is forgotten when the child comes, so the sorrow and pain that leads to final joy will be forgotten when the fulfillment of all joys comes.
Until then, we remember that nothing eternally good is ever lost and whatever we’ve had to lose will be restored a thousandfold by the Giver of all good gifts.
Plus, we know that even now we have an eternal stronghold that can never be shaken or destroyed, and in that we rest our hopes and dreams.

Ya Never Know

/ Ragamuffingospelfan / 1 Comment

Sometimes, ya just never know, do ya? I mean really. You think you have it all figured out, then the job you thought would last forever ends and the people you thought would never leave you leave you.

But it’s not always bad things.

I have had people I never expected would ever want anything to do with me come into my life and speak powerfully into it. I have had people I initially dismissed or brushed off as arrogant or shallow or worldly turn out to be some of the biggest impacters in my life.

I have had people to affirm God’s calling in my life. I have had people help me see that I’m not invisible or unwanted or a reject. I have had people who saw hope and a future for me when I couldn’t see anything but despair and darkness.

Sure, I have had people disappear on me. I’ve had people that I thought would be around for the long haul get married and move off and start new lives. Those aren’t bad things by any means, but it still means those people aren’t as immediately present in my life as they once were.

I have had people come up to me and tell me they love my blogs when I had no clue that they even read them. I even had someone I didn’t know come up to me and tell me how much I glowed with Jesus. That was one of those “out of left field” moments, but it came at the exact moment when I needed encouragement in a big way.

You never know who’s watching. That’s both comforting and challanging.

It’s challenging because it changes how you live. You can’t say one thing and live another and get away with it anymore. People may not call you on it to your face, but they notice and they might well form their opinion of Jesus and faith from your not-so-pristine example.

It’s also comforting. It means that nothing you ever do for Jesus, no matter how small and insignificant it seems, is ever in vain. In the words of the old Margaret Becker song, “It’s never for nothing.”

The words you choose have the power to speak life into someone else. You might just be the person that helps someone through a hard time in his or her life. You might be the person who helps someone keep going for one more day and helps that person to trust Jesus a little bit more.

Whose life will you speak into today? Who will you be Jesus to by your kind words and acts of service and forgiving and compassionate spirit?

Because you never know what even one random small act of love done in the power of a great God will do. Ya just never know.