If You Want Me To (Ginny Owens)

The pathway is broken and the signs are unclear

And I don’t know the reason why You brought me here

But just because You love me the way that You do

I’m gonna walk through the valley if You want me to

‘Cause I’m not who I was when I took my first step

And I’m clinging to the promise You’re not through with me yet

So if all of these trials bring me closer to You

Then I will go through the fire if You want me to

It may not be the way I would have chosen

When You lead me through a world that’s not my home

But You never said it would be easy

You only said I’ll never go alone, yeah oh oh

So when the whole world turns against me and I’m all by myself

And I can’t hear You answer my cries for help

I’ll remember the suffering Your love put You through

And I will go through the valley if You want me to

I’ve had this blog for several years, but for the last couple of years at least, I haven’t written much here. Life has been “lifeing” and I haven’t really made it a priority. However, I’ve been surprised, honestly, about views I continue to get without writing new content. I was recently told by a reader that my blog was “interesting and intelligent.” It surprised me a little and it caused me to consider writing more frequently. I have plenty to share still, and honestly if what I have to say encourages even one person, I think it’s worth taking the time to post my thoughts here.  So lately, several areas of my life have been really, really tough. Quite honestly, I’m at a loss of how to  improve the situations in those areas. I feel stuck and pretty discouraged about the circumstances. 

My youngest child, a 13-year old with autism, loves to take car rides every evening. He won’t let me forget and always approaches me in the afternoon or evening and says “car ride?”.  I almost always make sure he gets his evening trip and we listen to music while we are riding. Sometimes we listen to kids songs, love songs, or classical music, but many times we listen to praise and worship radio on Pandora. I’ll be honest, sometimes the tears start when I’m listening and singing along. Sometimes I pray out loud. Sometimes I don’t say anything. There are times when I’m quiet and I feel God speak gently to my heart. Recently, I had one of those moments during the evening drive. God placed a song in my mind that I hadn’t heard in years called “If You Want Me To”. The artist who sings the song is blind. Her name is Ginny Owens and I heard her perform live once when I was in college….many years ago. At the time I was going through a really devastating break up and had some depression to go along with it. I had the chance to speak to Ginny and tell her that her song had encouraged me and inspired me to keep going even while in the middle of the valley. God brought the song to my memory recently out of nowhere. I believe that was a sign to share the song here, today. If you’re going through a really dark, hard place, you’re never walking alone. God guides our paths and even carries us when we aren’t even aware. While we are never promised an easy life free from problems, we can take comfort in the fact that we never walk through the difficulties alone.

Blessings.

Your friend,

Tiffany