Here By The Water...

Here by the Water

Music and Lyric by Jim Croegaert
© 1986 Rough Stones Music

Soft field of clover
Moon shining over the valley
Joining the song of the river
To the great giver of the great good

As it enfolds me
Somehow it holds me together
I realize I’ve been singing
Still it comes ringing
Clearer than clear

And here by the water
I’ll build an altar to praise Him
Out of the stones that I’ve found here
I’ll set them down here
Rough as they are
Knowing You can make them holy
Knowing You can make them holy
Knowing You can make them holy

I think how a yearning
Has kept on returning to move me
Down roads I’d never have chosen
Half the time frozen
Too numb to feel
I know it was stormy
I hope it was for me learning
Blood on the road wasn’t mine though
Someone that I know
Has walked here before

I left home early this morning, just as the sun was rising and drove to one of my favourite spots along the Nith River. There is a stony beach where the river curves and continues to move downstream and I find it easy to meditate and pray in this quiet spot. Every time I sit here I think of Jim Croegaert's song which I heard a few years ago as a cover by Steve Bell in his album Beyond a Shadow. I have listened to it hundreds of times and it is in "my favourites" playlist.

"And here by the water

I’ll build an altar to praise Him

Out of the stones that I’ve found here

I’ll set them down here

Rough as they are

Knowing You can make them holy"

Jim Croegaert explains that he wrote the song during a difficult time in his life. He walked to a riverbank and was inspired to write these words. 

Life is seldom perfect yet people can feel they are entitled to a trouble-free, stress-free existence. Prosperity teaching in the evangelical church has been damaging as those with illness and hardship are judged to have insufficient faith. Others who are successful often live proudly, storing up "God's blessings" for their own consumption. I watched The Eyes of Tammy Faye on Disney+ recently and while I never followed the Bakker's ministry on TV, I recognized the toxic message that was shared with sincere but gullible followers. More often, we offer circumstances over which we have no control and the broken pieces of our lives as an act of worship. 

This is the peaceful view to my right at 6:30 AM. Hundreds of swallows dip high in the air as they prepare for a new day of searching for flying insects. 

The Bald Eagle left its eaglets in the nest and quietly faced the rising sun.

A Grey Catbird gave a feline call and sang its robotic, metallic song before foraging for berries. 

And a Baltimore Oriole sang its unique song which was different than the song of its smaller cousin, the Orchard Oriole who was perched in the same area.

I was refreshed in this magnificent cathedral with the beautiful music and the assurance of care, compassion and provision that God offers even in difficult times.

Here is another cover of the song performed by David Wesley, a nurse in Eastern Ontario who also arranges and records songs in his spare time.