God Keep My Head Above Water

I apologize to those of you expecting part two of my Seattle trip. That post will have to wait. I got hit with a strong wave of inspiration this morning and I knew immediately I had to write about it.

My commute to work is roughly 30 min in normal traffic. However, with all the construction going on along the shoreway, it takes me 45ish minutes or more. Depending on my mood each morning, I either flip the radio on to the Fish, which is one of the major Christian music stations here in Cleveland, or I have a conversation with God. Today was more of a music day.

The sun was out, it's Friday, and I was feeling great. I was one minute from work, sitting at the bottom of the hill on Nobel Rd, when they started talking about Avril Lavigne. They mentioned they were about to play one of her new songs. My attention was instantly honed in. For those of you who don't know, Avril Lavigne is a pop/punk singer/songwriter who came onto the music scene in 2002. She produced popular songs such as Sk8er Boi, Complicated, and Girlfriend. If you look at the lyrics to these and more of her songs, you would  wonder why in the world a Christian music station would play anything by her. I know I did.

Eventually, the fame died down. She hasn't put out an album in 5 years, has been divorced twice, and had a nasty bout with Lyme Disease. Here was someone who was on top of the music world who had miserably faded away. But when the Fish played her new song this morning. I was moved. The song is called Head Above Water. Before you read on, I encourage you to listen: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EKF6ghfcQic

She was in a place where the Lyme Disease was so bad, she thought she was going to die. She had mentally prepared herself for the end. But then, in her weakest moment, she did the unthinkable. She prayed. She said "God, please help to keep my head above water." Then the song you just heard came forth. She beat the disease and has a powerful testimony.

The reason I was moved is because Avril was someone who had it all. She was as far away from God as anyone. But He changed her heart. He changed her life. He gave her this song that I can see will help so many people. And the thing that makes me believe this is the work of God and not some fancy schmancy fake publicity stunt? The first half of the chorus: "God keep my head above water, don't let me drown, it gets harder. I'll meet you there at the altar, as I fall down to my knees." In the old testament, the altar is for sacrifice and spiritually it represents the burning off of your self. Falling down to your knees is a sign of surrender, but in this case, it's the best kind of surrender.

You may not be inspired like I was. You may not even like this song. But for me, it made my day. It's a constant reminder that no matter how high or low we are, we must rely on the Lord and surrender all. God is truly Amazing.