Beautiful Mess

I heard Amy Grant’s “Better Than a Hallelujah” on the radio yesterday morning.

God loves a lullaby
In a mother’s tears in the dead of night
Better than a Hallelujah sometimes

God loves the drunkard’s cry
The soldier’s plea not to let him die
Better than a Hallelujah sometimes

We pour out our miseries
God just hears a melody
Beautiful, the mess we are
The honest cries of breaking hearts
Are better than a Hallelujah

The woman holding on for life
The dying man giving up the fight
Are better than a Hallelujah sometimes

The tears of shame for what’s been done
The silence when the words won’t come
Are better than a Hallelujah sometimes

We pour out our miseries
God just hears a melody
Beautiful, the mess we are
The hones cry of breaking hearts
Are better than a Hallelujah

Better than a church bell ringing
Better than a choir singing out, singing out

We pour out our miseries
God just hears a melody
Beautiful, the mess we are
The honest cry of breaking hearts
Are better than a Hallelujah

The words of this song hit hard with me. I’m finally coming out of my ‘this is all a bad dream’ phase and understanding that God is really teaching something to me at this stage in life. I know it is a great thing to praise Him in the good times, but I think what this song is saying is that what He really wants is for me to come to Him as my true self. He knows that we have needs and He desires for us to bring those needs and surrender them at His feet in all of the crazy mess that we are. I think Amy Grant sums it up pretty well: “I’ve loved this song since I first heard it. The honesty and vulnerability of the lyric reminds me that to pray means to come as I am, imperfections and all, because ultimately, God seeks communion with us, the real us… and that’s freeing.” I’m thinking that He finds it more beautiful than praise when I truly and honestly pour out my deepest desires simply because it gives me a chance to be completely intimate and vulnerable with Him. The words in black and white simply don’t do this song justice. Take a listen to it here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0nMvvoXa9Yk