"El Shaddai...we will praise and lift you high...."

"...Through your love
and through your plan,
You saved the son of Abraham;
Through the power of your hand,
You turned the sea into dry land.
To the outcast on her knees,
You were the God who really sees,
And by Your might,
You set Your children free.

El Shaddai, El Shaddai,
El-Elyon na Adonia,
Age to age You're still the same,
by the power of the name.

El Shaddai, El Shaddai,
Erkamka na Adonai,
We will praise and lift You high,
El Shaddai."

Sometimes the answers to our most persistent questions come in such serendipitous ways. 

Two, seemingly random, questions were on my heart. What to write about in honor of Mother’s Day (without gushing over my own mother, children, or grandchild), andAbraham’s journey up Mount Moriah.

As to the latter, I’ve been walking around with Abraham in my heart, for the last few days. Asked by God to trust His steady, loving hand in all things, Abraham was urged to take his own young son, Isaac on, what must have been, the most heartwrenching “Sophie’s Choice” hike of Abraham’s life.

He was being called upon, by “the God of his fathers,” to lay his son on the altar, and offer his sweet innocent life, as a sin offering. I can’t even imagine the mental space this man must have been in as he took each step in their ascent.

And then the question pokes through with perplexity and horror, “where was this boy’s mother?”

But back to my story...

Okay, so I'm hiking Moriah with Abraham and Isaac, worried about this little boy (since I am not allowing myself the luxury of knowing the end of the story...I really want to be with them in that space for a while) and I am listening to the son asking his father benign questions, and Abraham's distracted responses.  It is hot, dusty, and the air is heavy with the father's pain.  I am an observer, a listener.  But that was when the sweet strains of  "El Shaddai" start sweeping through me like a cool clear breeze.  I can hear the music, but I want the words, so I can sing along in Hebrew. 

So I go to my computer, and since my last Youtube search was for a song by contemporary Christian artist, Michael Card, the first "El Shaddai" video that comes up is not my "go to" Amy Grant version, but a Michael Card performance. 

Stay with me here...this is where it gets all goose-fleshy for me.  So, I thinks to myself, "hmmm...I like Michael Card - a lot - and I wonder what his version sounds like?"

Now this thinking is not very Kate-like.   Kate seems to like-what-she-likes, and doesn't go off-roading in her preferences much.  If she finds something she likes at a restaurant, she never orders anything different...ever again, at that restaurant.  When she finds a piece of clothing she likes, she buys three of it, and wears it every day.  

And when I find a version of a song I like best, I pretty much never listen to any other performance of it...unless I am tricked, or gently led (like finding Sarah McLaughlin’s version of “Blackbird” on the “I am Sam” CD) into it.   Not this time though.

This was a case of, "hmmm...I wonder what Michael Card will do with this song?"  Very open-minded for me.

Now, I have to say here, that "El Shaddai" is one of my favorite spiritual songs.  I happen to love hearing Hebrew sung.  But whenever I have heard "El Shaddai," I always think of a Judeaic God who is very Fatherly.  Well, with regard to this moment, that made sense...right...I am thinking about Abraham and his relationship to his son, Isaac.

But as you will see in the video clip, I was in for the loveliest surprise.  Out of the blue, comes the hauntingly lush voice of my loved Sara Groves, and suddenly, I can actually hear the voice of the absent mother, Sarah, singing to her husband and son.  And, no surprise to anyone who knows my relationship to scripture-based songs, I am weeping. 

In this moment of grace, "El Shaddai" becomes the lullaby of a mother.  This, once for me, very masculine song (even when sung by Amy Grant) is as gentle and tender as a heartbeat, a mother braiding her daughter's hair, bathing her child's fevered brow, soothing a lost lamb.

So, I am thinking, "Have I ever even looked up the meaning of the Hebrew words, "El Shaddai?"  Hmmm, not sure.  But I can always look them up again...so I do. 

And again, the weeping. 

My research follows:

"El-Shaddai means God Almighty. El points to the power of God.  Shaddai seems to be derived from another word meaning breast, which implies that Shaddai signifies one who nourishes, supplies, and satisfies. It is God as El who helps, but it is God as Shaddai who abundantly blesses with all manner of blessings.

Scholar Harriet Lutzky links 'Shaddai' with the Hebrew 'shad' meaning "breast" giving the meaning "the one of the Breast," just as 'Asherah at Ugarit' is 'the one of the Womb.'

In Genesis (49:25) the Hebrew reads 'El Shaddai will bless you with the blessings of heaven above, blessings of the deep that lies beneath, blessings of the breasts [shadayim] and of the womb [racham].'"

Oh my goodness, the boy's divine Mother was with them all the way up that mountain, at the altar, finding the ram, and singing to them as they "skipped as little lambs"...father and son...down Mount Moriah, with gratitude and joy.  I can just imagine Sarah, the manifestation of that Mother-love, waiting for them at the trailhead, confidently trusting the Source of her mother-love to bring them home...whole, holy, and blessed. 

Happy Mother's Day to each of us...let us honor the Mother who continually seeks us out on our journeys, walks our path with us, waits to greet us, and sings to us of Her love and strength, day-by-day. And may we each, as Mary Baker Eddy encourages us in her reference to Love's healing presence in our lives, feel ourselves innocently, trustingly, devotedly, hungrily as:

“the babe that twines its loving arms about the
neck of omnipotence, and calls forth infinite care from [Her] loving heart.”

always with Love,
Kate
Kate Robertson, CS

"Dayenu....it would have been enough..."

"Even if all He did was bring us out of Egypt.
Dayenu - it would have been enough!
Even if He had only  split the sea for us.
Dayenu - it would have been enough!
If He had only led us through on the dry land.
Dayenu - it would have been enough!
Even if He had only provided for our needs
in the wilderness for 40 years.
Dayenu - it would have been enough!
Even if He had only fed us the manna.
Dayenu - it would have been enough!"

I was running, more than a bit, late for church on Sunday morning...not a good idea when you are supposed to be co-conducting the service...and once I finally got in the car, I turned the radio on, only to catch the very tail end of NPR's "Faith Matters."  Since they haven't put the February 1st program online yet, I don't have precise details about the name of the guest, or even why she was the guest...so please forgive me. ...but, what matters most for this post is what she said in those last few moments. A word that has stayed with me ever since. 

She was funny. And her comments were compelling. I believe that she said her childhood faith was Judaism...I think she even may have suggested, at one point, that she was an agnostic, but followed it, chuckling, that if she were to believe in a God at all, it would be the Jewish God...but this wasn't the important part.  It was what she shared next, that stuck with me. It was the word, "Dayenu" [phonetically: di ay nu]

Wikipedia defines Dayenu as a Hebrew word, or concept, that means, approximately, "it would have been enough for us" or "it would have sufficed."  It is also the title of a Passover celebration song, an adaptation of the traditional lyrics are listed above. It is a song that is over one thousand years old.  According to Wiki, and the "Faith Matters" guest, "Rachel" this song is about being grateful to God for all the gifts that he gave the Jewish people, such as taking them out of slavery, giving them the Torah (the law) and Shabbat (the sabbath rest). It is a recognition that even if God had only given one of His gifts, it would still would have been enough. 

I don't know how much of the program was left at that point, because I was deep in reverie.  I was writing my own Dayenu song.  Even if God had only given me the promise of motherhood, showing me that He had faith in my capacity to love by letting me become a teacher, it would have been enough.  Even if He had only given me the gift of adopting our first daughter, it would have been enough.  Even if God had only given me one moment of being loved the way my husband loves me, it would have been enough.  Even if God had only given me one sister/girlfriend who understood my heart, it would have been enough.   But....and the list of all the heaped on blessings from my uber-generous Father-Mother God goes on and on and on. 

I was lost in gratitude for how much I had been shown of His face, Her love in my life.  Gone was the stress of rushing out the door, worrying about whether I would have the "welcome to our service" sign on the sidewalk in time, the hymn numbers written on the whiteboard, the order of services in order.   I was in the space of Dayenu.

As soon as the program finished...so that would have been about 10AM...I realized that my gas tank was beyond empty.  The warning light had gone on three days earlier on my way home from office hours at the college, and although I hadn't driven far, my Jeep is a very thirsty girl.   I started looking for a gas station immediately and was grateful to be able to pull over within a few minutes to refuel...Dayenu.   But once I got out of the car to use the pump, the credit card reader wouldn't work...but there was a nice young man willing to help me...Dayenu.  Then the pump itself wouldn't work...again another helpful attendant...Dayenu.  By the time I reached church I had had a string of small Dayenu moments so long that I had forgotten about the time.

I was surprised when I walked into church and discovered that somehow I had made the trip (which normally takes 25-30 minutes) in 12 minutes. And no, I did not speed.  Speeding is impossible with 21 stoplights between here and there (and yes, I did count them on my way home).  My partner in conducting the services had had a very similar experience on her way to church.  An important call for help from a beloved daughter overseas, no time to spare, too much time to make up, and yet she too arrived at church much before she expected.  As we sat there looking at the circle of participants gathering for the service, waiting for the clock to move towards our start time...it was clear that we had both experienced the gift of time expanding to meet our needs.  Later we did discover that the church clock was a bit slow...but nowhere near the almost 15 minutes that were given to us that morning....Dayenu.

I am learning that Dayenu is not just a benediction of gratitude on divine gifts received from a generous God, but a posture for walking in this world. 

It is not enough to say, "well gosh God, thanks for the exodus from Egypt, but what the heck are we supposed to do here in the middle of the desert without food or water?"

Dayenu is a space of "dear God, if all you would have done were to deliver us from Pharoah, it would have been enough...but to show us your love in enabling us to make that trip in fellowship and to have arrived here at the edge of the sea where we can bathe our dusty feet....Dayenu.   And the sea parted.

There are thousands of moments in each day, moments when our lives may seem to look like we are sitting in the sand with Pharoah and his men bearing down on us with a vengence. Days when we feel as if we are trapped between the desert of disappointed human hopes, and a sea of fear so vast we feel paralyzed and immobile...but that is a moment for a song...a song of Dayenu.

Try staying in the temple of Dayenu today...it's a lovely place to dwell. And in this space, you don't have to choose a Jewish God, or a Christian God, or a Muslim, God or a Buddhist God....you can have them all...in One.   The One whose name is I AM, El Shaddhai, Jehovah, and Love....mostly, for me, Love.

And since I couldn't find a good version of the song "Dayenu" on Youtube, I will leave you with this song of praise from Amy Grant's, "El Shaddai."  It is one of my favorties ever.  It is a prayer.  I will list the lyrics below.

And if you need help thinking through how your day is filled with moments of Dayenu: "Even if God only ______, it would have been enough" just give me a call.  Together we can have our own moment of "El Shaddai." There's nothing I'd rather share with a friend.

"El shaddai, el shaddai,
El-elyon na adonia,
Age to age youre still the same,
By the power of the name.
El shaddai, el shaddai,
Erkamka na adonai,
We will praise and lift you high,
El shaddai.

Through your love and through the ram,
You saved the son of abraham;
Through the power of your hand,
Turned the sea into dry land.
To the outcast on her knees,
You were the God who really sees,
And by your might,
You set your children free.

El shaddai, el shaddai,
El-elyon na adonia,
Age to age youre still the same,
By the power of the name.
El shaddai, el shaddai,
Erkamka na adonai,
We will praise and lift you high,
El shaddai.

Through the years youve made it clear,
That the time of christ was near,
Though the people couldnt see
What messiah ought to be.
Though your word contained the plan,
They just could not understand
Your most awesome work was done
Through the frailty of your son.

El shaddai, el shaddai,
El-elyon na adonai,
Age to age youre still the same,
By the power of the name.
El shaddai, el shaddai,
Erkamka na adonai,
I will praise yo till I die,
El shaddai.

El shaddai, el shaddai,
El-elyon na adonai,
Age to age youre still the same,
By the power of the name.
El shaddai, el shaddai,
Erkamka na adonai,
I will praise you till I die.
El shaddai."

with Love,

Kate