O Love That Will Not Let Me Go

O Love That Will Not Let Me Go
(By George Matheson)

1. O Love that will not let me go,
I rest my weary soul in thee;
I give thee back the life I owe,
That in thine ocean depths its flow
May richer, fuller be.

2. O light that followest all my way,
I yield my flickering torch to thee;
My heart restores its borrowed ray,
That in thy sunshine’s blaze its day
May brighter, fairer be.

3. O Joy that seekest me through pain,
I cannot close my heart to thee;
I trace the rainbow through the rain,
And feel the promise is not vain,
That morn shall tearless be.

4. O Cross that liftest up my head,
I dare not ask to fly from thee;
I lay in dust life’s glory dead,
And from the ground there blossoms red
Life that shall endless be.


History of Hymn
“O Love That Will Not Let Me Go” written on the evening of Matheson’s sister’s marriage. His whole family had went to the wedding and had left him alone. And he writes of something which had happened to him that caused immense mental anguish. There is a story of how years before, he had been engaged until his fiancé learned that he was going blind, and there was nothing the doctors could do, and she told him that she could not go through life with a blind man. He went blind while studying for the ministry, and his sister had been the one who had taken care of him all these years, but now she is gone. He had been a brilliant student, some say that if he hadn’t went blind he could have been the leader of the church of Scotland in his day. He had written a learned work on German theology and then wrote “The Growth of The Spirit of Christianity.” Louis Benson says this was a brilliant book but with some major mistakes in it. When some critics pointed out the mistakes and charged him with being an inaccurate student he was heartbroken. One of his friends wrote, “When he saw that for the purposes of scholarship his blindness was a fatal hindrance, he withdrew from the field – not without pangs, but finally.” So he turned to the pastoral ministry, and the Lord has richly blessed him, finally bringing him to a church where he regularly preached to over 1500 people each week. But he was only able to do this because of the care of his sister and now she was married and gone. Who will care for him, a blind man? Not only that, but his sister’s marriage brought fresh reminder of his own heartbreak, over his fiancé’s refusal to “go through life with a blind man.” It is the midst of this circumstance and intense sadness that the Lord gives him this hymn – written he says in 5 minutes! Looking back over his life, he once wrote that his was “an obstructed life, a circumscribed life… but a life of quenchless hopefulness, a life which has beaten persistently against the cage of circumstance, and which even at the time of abandoned work has said not “Good night” but “Good morning.” How could he maintain quenchless hopefulness in the midst of such circumstances and trials? His hymn gives us a clue. “I trace the rainbow in the rain, and feel the promise is not vain” The rainbow image is not for him “If the Lord gives you lemons make lemonade” but a picture of the Lord’s commitment! It is a picture of the battle bow that appears when the skies are darkening and threaten to open up and flood the world again in judgment. But then we see that the battle bow is turned not towards us – but toward the Lord Himself!

Could you sleep while the wind blows?

Years ago, a farmer owned land along the Atlantic seacoast.
He constantly advertised for hired hands. Most people were
reluctant to work on farms along the Atlantic . They dreaded the
awful storms that raged across the Atlantic , wreaking havoc on the buildings and crops.
As the farmer interviewed applicants for the job, he received a steady stream of refusals.

Finally, a short, thin man, well past middle age, approached
the farmer. 'Are you a good farm hand?' the farmer asked him.
'Well, I can sleep when the wind blows,' answered the little man.

Although puzzled by this answer, the farmer, desperate for help,
Hired him. The little man worked well around the farm, busy from
dawn to dusk, and the farmer felt satisfied with the man's work.
Then one night the wind howled loudly in from offshore.
Jumping out of bed, the farmer grabbed a lantern and rushed
next door to the hired hand's sleeping quarters. He shook the
little man and yelled, 'Get up! A storm is coming!
Tie things down before they blow away!'
The little man rolled over in bed and said firmly, 'No
sir. I told you, I can sleep when the wind blows.'

Enraged by the response, the farmer was tempted to fire him on
the spot. Instead, he hurried outside to prepare for the storm.
To his amazement, he discovered that all of the haystacks had
been covered with tarpaulins. The cows were in the barn, the chickens were in the coops, and the doors were barred.
The shutters were tightly secured. Everything was tied down.

Nothing could blow away. The farmer then understood what his
hired hand meant, so he returned to his bed to also sleep while
the wind blew.

When you're prepared, spiritually, mentally, and physically,
you have nothing to fear. Can you sleep when the
wind blows through your life?
The hired hand in the story was able to sleep because he
had secured the farm against the storm.
We secure ourselves against the storms of life by
grounding ourselves in the Word of God.
We don't need to understand, we just need to hold
His hand to have peace in the middle of storms.

It Is Well With My Soul by Horatio Spafford

When peace like a river, attendeth my way,
When sorrows like sea billows roll;
Whatever my lot, Thou hast taught me to say,
It is well, it is well, with my soul.



Though Satan should buffet,
though trials should come,
Let this blest assurance control,
That Christ has regarded my helpless estate,
And hath shed His own blood for my soul.



My sin, oh, the bliss of this glorious thought!
My sin, not in part but the whole,
Is nailed to the cross, and I bear it no more,
Praise the Lord, praise the Lord, O my soul!



And Lord, haste the day when my faith shall be sight,
The clouds be rolled back as a scroll;
The trumpet shall resound, and the Lord shall descend,
Even so, it is well with my soul.



It is well, with my soul,

It is well, with my soul,

It is well, it is well, with my soul.

To the Holy Spirit

                         















TO THE HOLY SPIRIT,
           by Manuel Phile


O living Spirit, O falling of God-dew,
O Grace which dost console us and renew,
O vital light, O breath of angelhood,
O generous ministration of things good,
Creator of the visible, and best
Upholder of the great unmanifest
Power infinitely wise, new boon sublime
Of science and of art, constraining might,
In whom I breathe, live, speak, rejoice, and write, --
Be with us in all places, for all time!

My Life a garden

My life is like a garden of wonderful, beautiful and magnificent flowers. This garden is a well watered one because there's a wonderful constant Gardener that cares for this garden. He takes out the weeds, trims the plants and pull out the dead and dried to make way for newer and lovelier plants. Yes, it does hurt to be weeded and pruned but its the only way for constant growth! And yes, the hands of my constant Gardener is loving and skilled. He knows exactly what He is doing because He is my constant Gardener that cares for this garden. This garden is a well watered one to ensure life and nurture, to keep the flowers from withering and dying. This garden is a closed and well guarded one. My constant Gardener makes sure that there are no little animals or destructive insects that disrupt the serenity and beauty of this garden. For in this garden there is such life, there is such potential! From the beginning of time this constant Gardener has been lovingly making sure that the life He has given will find its full purpose in becoming full blooms. Eden, in all its splendor and beauty was a testimony to His care and love despite having been spoiled by the very ones for whom He created the Garden for. Yet, He is the faithful constant Gardener who makes sure that this garden continues to thrive into all that it was meant to be to reflect the beauty, care and goodness of the constant Gardener, the Giver and Nurturer of life!


"A garden enclosed and barred is my sister, my [promised] bride; a spring shut up, a fountain sealed." Song of Songs 4: 12 (Amplified Bible)

Footprints in the Sand (The Mary Stevenson Original)

Footprints in the Sand

One night I dreamed I was walking along the beach with the Lord.

Many scenes from my life flashed across the sky.

In each scene I noticed footprints in the sand.

Sometimes there were two sets of footprints,

other times there were one set of footprints.

This bothered me because I noticed

that during the low periods of my life,

when I was suffering from

anguish, sorrow or defeat,

I could see only one set of footprints.

So I said to the Lord,

"You promised me Lord,

that if I followed you,

you would walk with me always.

But I have noticed that during

the most trying periods of my life

there have only been one

set of footprints in the sand.

Why, when I needed you most,

you have not been there for me?"

The Lord replied,

"The times when you have

seen only one set of footprints in the sand,

is when I carried you."

Birthday thotz (Runa Original)

Feeling the usual birthday blues...
I wonder what God thinks
of this thing
we call a 'birthday'
and the hooha we put on it!

When I was younger

nobody ever remembered
my birthday
even my parents!
I can't ever recall
of my parents
ever giving
me a birthday party!

The other day my friend
was going for a coming of age party
for a friend's daughter
I heard it was going to be grand one
held at a hotel
She was turning 21
My friend had bought some golden jeweleries for her
Because she was a rich man's daughter
so the gift must also befits her!

Wow! I think she will have more befitting gifts
from relatives and friends coming for the party

what a lucky young lady!

I grew up actually despising this thing call 'birthday'
until I discovered the true meaning of what it meant
to be alive and
given the right to live
by the One who made
me for Himself
from that day my heart
found its healing...

though nobody really remembers
or appreciate
this thing call Runa's birthday
No flowers or gifts or even a cake...

I know my heavenly Father does

and I will celebrate that with Him
for He's the One that gave me life
and He's the One who gave me
the right to live
He gave me right to space in
His huge world
He gave me my being
and its true meaning!

So, its going to be another quiet
and demure birthday
as usual for the last many years
nevertheless...blessed birthday!

I am loved, I am embraced,
I am accepted
Therefore I am blessed!
Thank You, my heavenly Father
for giving me the
greatest gift of all...
and that is You!
And that is the best ever present
one can have

for their birthday,
eternal and priceless!