The Tamed Fox

by Josh Groban

Don’t give up
It’s just the weight of the world
When your heart’s heavy, I
I will lift it for you
Don’t give up
Because you want to be heard
If silence keeps you, I
I will break it for you

Everybody wants to be understood
Well I can hear you
Everybody wants to be loved
Don’t give up
Because you are loved

Don’t give up
It’s just the hurt
That you hide
When you’re lost inside, I
I’ll be there to find you

Don’t give up
Because you want to burn bright
If darkness blinds you I
I will shine to guide you

Everybody wants to be understood
Well I can hear you
Everybody wants to be loved
Don’t give up
Because you are loved

You are loved

Don’t give up
It’s just the weight of the world

Don’t give up
Everyone needs to be loved

You are loved

by Sarah McLachlan

Spend all your time waiting for that second chance
For the break that will make it ok
There’s always some reason to feel “not good enoughâ€?
And it’s hard at the end of the day
I need some distraction, oh beautiful release
Memories seep from my veins
They may be empty and weightless, and maybe
I’ll find some peace tonight

In the arms of an Angel, fly away from here
From this dark, cold hotel room, and the endlessness that you fear
You are pulled from the wreckage of your silent reverie
You’re in the arms of an Angel; may you find some comfort here

So tired of the straight line, and everywhere you turn
There’s vultures and thieves at your back
The storm keeps on twisting, you keep on building the lies
That you make up for all that you lack
It don’t make no difference, escaping one last time
It’s easier to believe
In this sweet madness, oh this glorious sadness
That brings me to my knees

In the arms of an Angel, far away from here
From this dark, cold hotel room, and the endlessness that you fear
You are pulled from the wreckage of your silent reverie
In the arms of an Angel; may you find some comfort here

Whispers of sorrow, here today, back tomorrow
Can not be explained – Unknown

Loneliness has a lot of description.  It can be a loneliness brought about by a broken heart or a loss of a love one; or a feeling of isolation because no one cares. They said you are lonely when you are sitting in front of a computer in the dead of night looking up words like lonely or sadness in the internet. Somehow, I do not know if what I am feeling right now is really loneliness or I am just dead bored. But I can’t help but feel that it is because I am now in a different location and I live apart from family and friends and all things that are familiar. Though I try to survive each day, the hole continues to appear in my heart.  Even with all my efforts, it seems they are not sufficient. I feel at a loss and not in control.  I know that crying can heal the soul.  I hope I can cry over it just like I usually do so I can move on. But right now, the tears seem to evade me.  I pray and hope I will be able to get over this and I am just on a period of adjustment… that eventually, everything will be fine and I will enjoy all the things there is in this new place.

I’ve been living with a shadow overhead

I’ve been sleeping with a cloud above my bed

I’ve been lonely for so long

Trapped in the past,

I just can’t seem to move on

I’ve been hiding all my hopes and dreams away

Just in case I ever need em again someday

I’ve been setting aside time

To clear a little space in the corners of my mind

All I want to do is find a way back into love

I can’t make it through without a way back into love Oh oh oh

I’ve been watching but the stars refuse to shine

I’ve been searching but I just don’t see the signs

I know that it’s out there

There’s got to be something for my soul somewhere

I’ve been looking for someone to shed some light

Not somebody just to get me through the night

I could use some direction

And I’m open to your suggestions

All I want to do is find a way back into love

I can’t make it through without a way back into love

And if I open my heart again

I guess I’m hoping you’ll be there for me in the end

There are moments when I don’t know if it’s real

Or if anybody feels the way I feel

I need inspiration

Not just another negotiation

All I want to do is find a way back into love

I can’t make it through without a way back into love

And if I open my heart to you

I’m hoping you’ll show me what to do

And if you help me to start again

You know that I’ll be there for you in the end

What would you do if I told you that
All that I do’s think of what we had
What would you do if I’m not the friend I used to be
Well, at least, not to me

REFRAIN 1
‘Cause I can’t get over all the times you stay
Get crazy, jealous every time you’re away
Now I’m someone different from the one you knew
Had nothing to feel for you, to feel for you

CHORUS
What do I do
I keep calling out your name
What do I do
I got no one else to blame
What do I do
Every time I hold your hand, it’s not the same
What do I do
I think I fell in love with you

What can I do, what can I say
Everything keeps changing every night, every day
Every word so diff’rent, every touch so real
Every glance and every look reveals the way I feel

REFRAIN 2
No, it’s never ever gonna be the same
When we hug for warmth from the cold of the rain
Yet I’m not gonna move on, not gonna change
Though I find it hard to say, baby

[Repeat CHORUS]

BRIDGE
I don’t know what to do
I’m fallin’ more for you
Baby, please tell me…

[Repeat CHORUS]

CODA
Ooh oh
What do I do

A man was sleeping at night in his cabin when suddenly his room filled with light and the Savior appeared. The Lord told the man he had work for him to do, and showed him a large rock in front of his cabin. The Lord explained that the man was to push against the rock with all his might.

This the man did, day after day. For many years he toiled from sun up to sun down, his shoulders set squarely against the cold, massive surface of the unmoving rock, pushing with all his might. Each night the man returned to his cabin sore and worn out, feeling that his whole day had been spent in vain.

Seeing that the man was showing signs of discouragement, Satan decided to enter the picture by placing thoughts into the man’s mind such as: “You have been pushing against that rock for a long time, and it hasn’t budged. Why kill yourself over this? You are never going to move it.”

Thus giving the man the impression that the task was impossible and that he was a failure, these thoughts discouraged and disheartened the man even more. “Why kill myself over this?” he thought. I’ll just put in my time, giving just the minimum effort and that will be good enough.”

And that he planned to do until one day he decided to make it a matter of prayer and take his troubled thoughts to the God. “Lord,” he said, “I have labored long and hard in your service, putting all my strength to do that which you have asked. Yet, after all this time, I have not even budged that rock by half a millimeter. What is wrong? Why am I failing?”

To this the Lord responded compassionately, “My friend, when I asked you to serve me and you accepted, I told you that your task was to push against the rock with all your strength, which you have done. Never once did I mention to you that I expected you to move it. Your task was to push. And now you come to me, with your strength spent, thinking that you have failed. But, is that really so? Look at yourself. Your arms are strong and muscled, your back sinewed and brown, your hands are callused from constant pressure, and your legs have become massive and hard. Through opposition you have grown much and your abilities now surpass that which you used to have. Yet you haven’t moved the rock. But your calling was to be obedient and to push and to exercise your faith and trust in My wisdom. This you have done. I, my friend, will move the rock, ” says the Lord.

At times when we hear a word from God, we tend to use our own intellect to decipher what He wants, when actually what God wants is just simple obedience and faith in Him…

“By all means, exercise the faith that moves mountains; but it is still God who moves the mountain.”

Shared by Joe Gatuslao

Bacolod City, Philippines

Sydney Carter wrote…

I danced in the morning
When the world was begun,
And I danced in the moon
And the stars and the sun,
And I came down from heaven
And I danced on the earth,
At Bethlehem
I had my birth.

Dance, then, wherever you may be,
I am the Lord of the Dance, said he,
And I’ll lead you all, wherever you may be,
And I’ll lead you all in the Dance, said he

I danced for the scribe
And the pharisee,
But they would not dance
And they wouldn’t follow me.
I danced for the fishermen,
For James and John -
They came with me
And the Dance went on.

Chorus

I danced on the Sabbath
And I cured the lame;
The holy people
Said it was a shame.
They whipped and they stripped
And they hung me on high,
And they left me there
On a Cross to die.

Chorus

I danced on a Friday
When the sky turned black -
It’s hard to dance
With the devil on your back.
They buried my body
And they thought I’d gone,
But I am the Dance,
And I still go on.

Chorus

They cut me down
And I leapt up high;
I am the life
That’ll never, never die;
I’ll live in you
If you’ll live in me -
I am the Lord
Of the Dance, said he.

Chorus

Copyright 1963 Stainer & Bell Ltd. London, England

I feel so angry I just want to scream.  I have felt like this for the past months and nothing seem to make it go away.

Living in this world can be very scary.  There are storms and earthquakes that shake and affect our lives dramatically.  Accidents happen and there are sicknesses nobody understands. The world has always been like this.  But man has continued to create order amidst the chaos.  Scientists can sometimes predict an earthquake or a volcanic eruption prior to its occurrence.  They now know the speed of the wind and how we can best avoid it.  There are doctors who study every illness they see, and develop cures. 

I am no different with the way man handles the unpredictability of the world.  I too have a fixed schedule.  I know what I want to become and how to go there.  I have goals and dreams and am working myself hard in achieving them.  My world may not be perfect but I am trying every day to make it better than what it is now.  And every painstaking step I take leads to that goal.

It was supposed to run smoothly.  I had it planned until the last detail.  Every night before I go to sleep, I will dream of my dream.  I will wake up knowing that it is one day less of my journey towards my dream.  I thought I had it; but I was wrong.  It started one day when nothing seems to go the way it should.  One way or another something goes wrong. Nothing seems to work. My world started to show tiny cracks on it.  And everyday I tried so hard to patch it up. But to no avail. It got from worse to worst. I felt I can no longer see even a shadow of my dream.  And every day I bade it goodbye, I became angry and frustrated.  And these feelings started to eat me.

I became a silent angry person.  I bottled in all my frustration. I kept the hurt and the desperation.  I was too proud to admit I lost.  I was even too ashamed to ask for help.  I missed my daily talks with God.  I do not even know how to start it. I just tell Him, you know I need help and that is it. Conceited is what I am.  But I have nothing to be proud of or to brag about.  I admitted defeat when I should not have.  I relied only on myself.  My anger consumed me until I got tired and didn’t care anymore.  I became numb from all the trials I have to undergo.  I lost hope.

But God didn’t. He persists.  Maybe He saw something in me, I do not know.  But He continues to cling on to me. Now is my first step to healing.  But I am no longer following my plan but Gods’.  He leads me everyday. First, He made me realize why I feel like this.  Next, He made me write about it and admit of my foolishness.  I do not know what is next.  I do not even know when or how He will lead me through it.  I am still doubtful if I will achieve my dream. But I trust in Him Who now guides me.  He knows what is best.  Perhaps, He has a better dream for me. 

It is messing my mind

It’s putting me in a bind                                    

I can hear many voices

Each thought it supposes                

Everybody seems harsh

It’s turning me to ash

Pure malice it wrought

My fury it sought

Alone amidst the turmoil

A snake in me uncoils

Afraid to be beaten

I fought like a heathen

In my fervor I might hurt

Those innocent of mine plight

I stayed away, I became curt

And put all out of my sight

Pain I will surely feel

In order for me to heal

It will hurt I am sure

But I’ll persist, I’ll endure

Alone with sounds in my head

Where nothing can be said

Trying to make sense of it all

Hoping all be well in the end

Many times I have wondered what could have been….

What could have happened if I studied psychology instead of accounting?

What could have happened to me if I and my ex-boyfriend married?

Or if I have pursued my calling?

Where will I be, have I not left my previous company?

Where will I be had I not joined a charismatic community?

Will I be happy now if I didn’t change my career path?

If I were able to control my emotions, will I still be as bad as I am now?

These are just a few of the questions I have often asked myself.  What will happen if I am allowed to turn back time?  What will I change? Will I make the same decisions? Will I make the same reactions?

Unfortunately I cannot turn back time.  I will have to accept the fact that I am where I am right now because of all the decisions and reactions I made in the past. My acceptance of my situation, is made easier when I believe that this is where God wants me to be. And that His faithfulness has kept me going even in the wrong decisions I made.

I cannot help wondering.  It will always be at the back of my mind.  But I have chosen this path.  And I wait in anticipation of what will be. From what will be, I will be able to learn.. I will be able to grow. I will fall, but I will learn how to stand. I will cry.. but I will learn how to dry my tears… I will feel lonely.. but I have a God who will comfort me.