One Pair of Eyes

The Luckiest

-- Ben Folds

I don't get many things right the first time

In fact, I am told that a lot

Now I know all the wrong turns, the stumbles and falls

Brought me here

And where was I before the day

That I first saw your lovely face?

Now I see it everyday

And I know

That I am

The luckiest

What if I'd been born fifty years before you

In a house on a street where you lived?

Maybe I'd be outside as you passed on your bike

Would I know?

And in a white sea of eyes

I see one pair that I recognize

And I know

That I am

The luckiest

I love you more than I have ever found a way to say to you

Next door there's an old man who lived to his nineties

And one day passed away in his sleep

And his wife; she stayed for a couple of days

And passed away

I'm sorry, I know that's a strange way to tell you that I know we belong

That I know

That I am

The luckiest

"And I Love You So"

Hopeful :) 1/31/2011

...whose hearts are set on pilgrimage.

I read Psalm 84 the other night, and I was struck by the beauty of the word "pilgrimage" -- the newer translations don't use it (they favor "highways" instead). That small difference captured my attention, and I found myself journeying on a mini-pilgrimage through the translations, haha.  I read and re-read Psalm 84 in the NIV... the NASB... the ESV... the Living Translation... Sigh.  The beauty of scripture never ceases to amaze me, and I live with such bounty -- all the various translations, all the places online to read it!  It's incredible, as are the truths in this Psalm.  The bold, italicized verses were my favorites this time around...

Psalm 84 (NIV)

For the director of music. According to gittith.^[b] Of the Sons of Korah. A psalm.

 ¹ How lovely is your dwelling place,
   LORD Almighty!
² My soul yearns, even faints,
   for the courts of the LORD;
my heart and my flesh cry out
   for the living God.
³ Even the sparrow has found a home,
   and the swallow a nest for herself,
   where she may have her young—
a place near your altar,
   LORD Almighty, my King and my God.
⁴ Blessed are those who dwell in your house;
   they are ever praising you.^[c]

 ⁵ Blessed are those whose strength is in you,
   whose hearts are set on pilgrimage.

⁶ As they pass through the Valley of Baka,
   they make it a place of springs;
   the autumn rains also cover it with pools.^[d]
7 They go from strength to strength,
   till each appears before God in Zion.

 ⁸ Hear my prayer, LORD God Almighty;
   listen to me, God of Jacob.
⁹ Look on our shield,^[e] O God;
   look with favor on your anointed one.

 ¹⁰ Better is one day in your courts
   than a thousand elsewhere;
I would rather be a doorkeeper in the house of my God
   than dwell in the tents of the wicked.
¹¹ For the LORD God is a sun and shield;
   the LORD bestows favor and honor;
no good thing does he withhold
   from those whose walk is blameless.

 ¹² LORD Almighty,
   blessed is the one who trusts in you.