Liz Schauer

In a brief moment,

One thousand voices ring out in unison to declare a truth and a promise:

I will call upon Your Name,

Keep my eyes above the waves.

Unified adoration and overwhelming debt consume the young and old,

The strong and weak reflect.

The voices, while harmoniously joined, are inexplicably distinct.

The abandoned and bruised, the broken and used, interlace songs of trial and affliction.

Eyes closed,

The memory floods.

The scars of sickness,

The screams of exploitation,

The echoes of loneliness,

The silence of death,

The deep pain of regret,

The failures and falls.

Keep my eyes above the waves, Jesus, keep my eyes fixed upon your face where healing and hope fill open hands and weary hearts.

Once swallowed by the swell

Screaming for salvation we stand.

The Church, different yet one,

Interlock melodies that hold unseen memories to admire a God who is incomprehensibly strength enough for us all.