I first heard it on my journey up to Kentucky two weeks ago for my first weekend of my two weekends of intensive ethics seminary course. I have written about Mandisa's song "Stronger" before and when I heard this song "Overcomer" I recognized the sound and the message.
There were certain words and phrases that caught my attention personally as I was driving and reflecting on all that is going on in my life. The song held more meaning driving home after the first weekend of classes when my brain and body were fatigued and sore.
Before I share my personal reflections, here is the song.
First, the lyrics and a clickable link to a video with the lyrics:
"Overcomer" by Mandisa
Staring at a stop sign
Watching people drive by
T Mac on the radio
Got so much on your mind
Nothing's really going right
Looking for a ray of hope
Whatever it is you may be going through
I know He's not gonna let it get the best of you
You're an overcomer
Stay in the fight ‘til the final round
You're not going under
‘Cause God is holding you right now
You might be down for a moment
Feeling like it's hopeless
That's when He reminds You
That you're an overcomer
You're an overcomer
Everybody's been down
Hit the bottom, hit the ground
Oh, you're not alone
Just take a breath, don't forget
Hang on to His promises
He wants You to know
The same Man, the Great I am
The one who overcame death
Is living inside of You
So just hold tight, fix your eyes
On the one who holds your life
There's nothing He can't do
He's telling You
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~As you listen to the song and read through the lyrics, what word or phrase grabs your attention?
For me, it started with "Got so much on your mind".
Then:
- Stay in the fight
- You're not going under
- God is holding you
- you're not alone
- Hang on to His promises
- So just hold tight
- fix your eyes On the one who holds your life
- You're an overcomer
Though I knew I had quite a bit on my mind and I knew the beginning of the semester with the intensive weekends would put some strain and stress on my body, mind, and life, I honestly had NO IDEA it would hit me as hard as it did that first weekend. It hit me hard to the point that my c5 and c6 in my neck started giving me fits and radiculopathy that I hadn't felt in a couple of years was radiating down my neck to my arm and fingers. My upper back was stiff and I simply felt "stoved up". The muscles were tight, I knew, but it was more than muscular this time.
I have been listening to my body better over the years as I have dealt with anemia, kidney stones, and frozen shoulders. Though I had taken a break from massage therapy, I had started that back a few months ago knowing the importance for my shoulders and overall muscular health. Even with massage therapy, yoga for wellness, exercise, and pruning some things out of my life, I wasn't doing enough to counter-balance the stress in my life.
The weekend was a wake up call for me. I took some immediate action to get some work done on my neck and back that is bone oriented.
I also took some steps to prune some more things to make room for these graduate classes that need more attention at the beginning of the semester than I had first realized (our schedule was modified from the original syllabus and our end date was moved up a month).
I decided to drive up the back roads this past weekend, taking 111/127 up to KY so that I would have more creation and less cars. It was about the same in miles and time. I took 27 all the way home from outside of Wilmore and again enjoyed creation instead of traffic. The drive home was surprisingly about the same amount of time as the interstate would have been and I drove through Daniel Boone National Forest and saw the Kingsford Charcoal place, among many other sights.
I heard Mandisa's song quite a few more times on the radio both weekends, being encouraged by her lyrics each time I heard it.
I don't know what your life situation holds right now, what things are going on in your journey. But, I do know that you, too, can be an overcomer. Hold on tight. Keep your eyes on the One who holds your life. Know that you are not alone.
Reach out and grab hold of some of those roots around you for some extra support. You can hold them up while they're holding you. If you're reading my blog for the first time and that analogy seems to be coming out of nowhere, go check out my blog post about Jentezen Franklin. It will make more sense.
I've got a list of things on my heart, mind, and soul I would like to jot down. But the truth is that I have things that I have to do and it's time to switch back into that mode now.
It's about balance. Body. Mind. Soul.
That's where I'm trying live it in my journey..... keeping it balanced, keeping it real, keeping it healthy.
Blessings on your journey,
Debra
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