What’s Holding You Back?
Thoughts on
By Your Side by Tenth Avenue North
I would dearly love to go with my first choice and quote every word of these amazing lyrics and give full credit to the creator(s), but due to my understanding of copyright laws I feel compelled to choose to quote only the song title and artist.
I think I am a word person. I am often struck by the choice of word used in a particular instance and the shades of meaning that add connotations to the thought where the word is used. In Bible study this is often referred to as lexicology.
In the song “By Your Side” by Tenth Avenue North, the word ‘hold’ has always jumped out at me. A scene played out in my mind of a father with a small child in his arms. The child is quite content to be near the father—how often children beg to be “up.” In the scene the child sits contentedly on the parent’s hip laying his head on the shoulder or happily looking around. We would say that the parent is “holding” the child. It is a picture of love and trust, caring and security. In my mind I picture the two standing on a porch or a deck and the child is safe in the arms of the parent and the two are mutually enjoying the moment.
However, parents of young children know how long this attitude remains. Before long, the child who wailed for “up” is crying for “down.” Being near something with an edge where the child could fall off, the father is reluctant to let the child down. Then the child begins to struggle as he asserts his independence. The parent says no, and tightens the grip, in order to protect the child and keep him from the possibility of falling. We still say the parent is “holding” the child, but the connotation is different.
I ask you, do you see that it is God holding you? Are you relaxing in the moment and laying your head on His shoulder, or are you fighting the place where you are secure? Do you see that it is love that is holding you, even if it feels like He is holding you back? Why do we feel one is to be desired and one to be questioned?
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