Sometimes a simple song mix-up by a child can send you the right message, “Fight Up and Stand Anyhow!”
I have to admit, that worships at our house are fun and rousing times. Randy and I are ready to relax and the songs we choose tend to be mellow and comforting, songs like “I will lift my eyes, to the hills and their Creator,” “Father God,” and more like those. But our rule is that each member of the family gets to choose at least one song. So, since parents are the minority at our house, our worships consist of animated songs that involve lots of hand waving, walking in unison, jumping, falling down giants, people climbing trees, shouting to the Lord and anything else that involves noise or movement.
Last time at worship, Andrew, our little soldier for the Lord, chose the song you see above. Now, it’s not my favorite song. The grammar is awful, the metaphors are mixed, and frankly, I don’t even know if we sing it remotely the way it was originally written. But Andrew loves it, mostly because it calls for yelling. He sings with complete and total abandon but not always with skill.
We let Larissa be the first name we inserted and she stood at the appropriate time and yelled out with zest, “Stand up and fight anyhow!”
Andrew came next, and as we sang his name, he jumped up with enthusiasm, wiggling his body in time with the guitar until it was his turn to yell. The closer we got in the song the more excited he got, until finally he bellowed, just a little ahead of his time, “FIGHT UP AND STAND ANYHOW!” Then he happily took his seat on the couch, pleased with his song to the Lord.
Now, our two girls are just enough of perfectionists to think that his mix-up was funny and we all giggled slightly through the verse for Karina. Andrew giggled too, but not because of his mix-up, which he didn’t even notice, but just because he was so pleased with himself. As I watched my little five-year-old man, who has now been battling leukemia for over a year, grin with glee over his Fight Up and Stand Anyhow, my giggles died down and thoughts of God’s blessings took over. I suddenly was struck with just how appropriate Andrew’s little mess-up seemed to me.
This year has truly been a time of catastrophic illness, traumatic separations, stress overload, tests of faith, friendship and family. Since August 24, of last year, our life has become a fight. A fight to heal, to live, to stay a family unit, to keep working when all we wanted to do was be with our kids. It’s been a fight to stay sane, actually.
Sometimes, the anger that comes when you watch your child go through pain, when your healthy kids have to be without you for days on end, when you’re just so tired you can’t move, is overwhelming.
But my little fighter has definitely taught me something. We have to fight up and stand anyhow!
Sometimes life feels as though it’s just a fight, and we can’t always see God’s whole plan. But I believe that we have to fight through things anyway, and when they don’t go our way, when things hurt and we practically fall apart because of the stress and burnout – that is our biggest time to “Stand up!” and say, no matter what, He is my God and I will stand by Him.
No matter the fights going on in your life, just keep fighting and stand up with our God. FIGHT UP AND STAND ANYHOW!
Check out other stories in the series of 31 Days of Unexpected Blessings from Caregiving
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