Music Monday: "To Cry for You"

This has been a hard year for our family in the loss of many friends and a family member. My last posts talked about a few of them. Our church is growing older and with an older congregation, I guess that funerals are a part of things. My Dad says, "Death is a part of life." That is true, whether we like it or not. As Christians, we have hope that we will see our loved ones again in heaven, and I am very thankful for that hope and reminder.

I've enjoyed Carolyn Arends' music for over 25 years. We saw her in concert many years ago in our town with the late, great Rich Mullins. I really liked her music then. My husband discovered her newer album called, "Recognition" a few years ago, and we really like it. She has a great way with thought-provoking lyrics that I can identify with. She lost her mother over 3 years ago, and she wrote this song in her mother's honour (she is Canadien, so the extra u is correct for them!). My husband "sent" this song to many friends who have lost family members and close friends, and we've always gotten good responses to it. I am posting it here because it is needed for many friends to hear right now.

I hope you enjoy it. Remember that it is okay to cry, tears are not a bad thing! Carolyn says, "So many of us are carrying such deep loss, some of it fresh, and some of it buried-- and that for all of us, grief is the work that love must do." It is my honour to cry for you... 


"To Cry for You"

Words and music by Carolyn Arends

There’s a lump in my throat
There’s a knot in my chest
I am tired to the bone
But I cannot rest
Still it’s only right to feel like I do
‘Cause it is my honour to cry for you

All the memories come back
Like the tide rolling in
And the current is strong
I go under again
So I hold my breath, what else can I do?
It is my honour to cry for you

Blessed are the ones who weep
‘Cause every tear is proof
Of ties that bind so strong and deep
That death cannot undo
So it is my honour to cry for you

I’ve got more than a hunch
That you’re somewhere so good
It’d be wrong to come back
Even if you could
I will see you again, but until I do
It is my honour to cry for you

Chorus

There’s a lump in my throat
There’s a knot in my chest
But the ache in my soul
Tells me I am blessed
‘Cause when the sorrow is great, the love is too
And it is my honour to cry for you
I guess grief is the work that love must do
So it is my honour to cry for you
© Running Arends Music/ASCAP

You can listen to this song here. I love the violin in that song! But be warned, it is a tear-jerker!

Matthew 5:4
Blessed are those who mourn,
for they will be comforted.

John 11:33-36
When Jesus saw her weeping, and the Jews who had come along with her also weeping, he was deeply moved in spirit and troubled.  “Where have you laid him?” he asked.
“Come and see, Lord,” they replied.
 Jesus wept.
 Then the Jews said, “See how he loved him!”

Revelation 21:4
‘He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away.”