Wednesday, September 2, 2009

"Held" by Natalie Grant


What It Means To Be “Held”

Natalie Grant sings a moving song about grief, loss, suffering and hope called, “Held.” However, the writer of the song is Christa Wells. Her inspiration for the song came from 3 different women that greatly influenced her life. Each of the women experienced the loss of a family member.

1) Patti, a young widow with 3 kids, lost her husband

2) Vaneetha, experienced polo growing up, lost her infant son Paul from a heart defect. The first verse of "Held" refers to Vaneetha and her son, Paul. She shared with Christa about how knowing sorrow allowed her to also know joy and about the strange reality of feeling God's presence most keenly in the moments of deepest grief.

3) Sherry, Christa’s mother-in-law, lost her daughter Erica at birth. She spoke through tears about the pain of carrying a child to term and then having to let her go without even getting to take her home from the hospital. She told Christa about the still, small voice that spoke to her in the delivery room, “You have to choose how you will carry this loss after this moment. You can choose bitterness or you can choose to let me wrap you up in peace that can't be explained and that will lead to hope. You can choose to trust that you are not alone, and that everything you suffer here will someday be redeemed."

Because of the influence of these women, Christa realized that no person of faith since the beginning of time has ever lived without suffering. In fact, those who are students of Jesus have been promised that we certainly should expect pain and suffering in this life.

BUT …

In the middle of that heartache, at every lonely, dark, lost moment ...the Truth. That in those moments, especially then, we are held, held up, held together, by the the One who has walked here and knows the pain, and who also holds all of time, every story, my story, your story, the Greatest Story in his hands.

Christa said, “Every word (of the song) was chosen with loving care, because I didn't write this song for a market, or any audience, but for those three women. I wrote it and recorded it with my old 8-track and made a cassette copy for each of them.”

Link to the Natalie Grant video/song “Held.”

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iOufqWodFNo

Below are the lyrics to Held:

Two months is too little
They let him go
They had no sudden healing
To think that providence
Would take a child from his mother
While she prays, is appalling
Who told us we'd be rescued
What has changed and
Why should we be saved from nightmares
We're asking why this happens to us
Who have died to live, it's unfair

[Chorus]
This is what it means to be held
How it feels, when the sacred is torn from your life
And you survive
This is what it is to be loved and to know
That the promise was when everything fell
We'd be held

This hand is bitterness
We want to taste it and
Let the hatred numb our sorrows
The wise hand opens slowly
To lilies of the valley and tomorrow

[Chorus]
This is what it means to be held
How it feels, when the sacred is torn from your life
And you survive
This is what it is to be loved and to know
That the promise was when everything fell
We'd be held
[Bridge]
If hope is born of suffering
If this is only the beginning
Can we not wait, for one hour
Watching for our savior
[Chorus]
This is what it means to be held
How it feels, when the sacred is torn from your life
And you survive
This is what it is to be loved and to know
That the promise was when everything fell
We'd be held
We'd be held

This is what it is to be loved and to know
That the promise was when everything fell
We'd be held

This is what it means to be held.....

20 comments:

  1. Jennifer -

    Thanks so much for stopping by and reading my blog about my precious daughter Jackie. I wish you God's blessings this holiday season!

    Dave

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  2. I too have known the sorrow of losing a child before ever getting to hold him. I was nine months pregnant and was told that my son was no longer with us. Since then I have dealt with severe health issues myself including cancer all before the age of 40. Though despite all of this I have felt the amazing grace of God and have felt "held". This song brings me to tears, though they are now mostly tears of understanding and an ability to relate to those who have had crisis in their life that tears at their ability to function. Peace to you and those who have lost someone they loved.

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    1. Jennifer,

      Wherever you are I have read about this post of your with tears and I imagined how it looks like.
      I prayed for you if you still have that cancer It ends now in Jesus name He said on the cross that "it's finished" and that He was made the Head over all things on Earth so I call upon How mighty name now to touch your difficult moment wherever you are. Distance is not a barrier believe it you are healed today if it you still had it.

      Amen

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  3. hearing "HELD" always moves me to tears because it reminds me of losing my dear mom to cancer - it's been 11 1/2 years ago, but the deep, deep loss is still there - and it rears its head at times still. God is the only ONE that got me thru her suffering and subsequent death, and now the anticipation of seeing her again on the other side - when it's my turn

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  4. David:
    I came across your blog while doing research on Natalie Grant's song "Held." Great blog. I will continue to follow it. I am a retired (sort of) LPC (The equivalent of a marriage and family therapist in CA). I am so sorry for your loss. Grief is hard. I pray for God's strength in your journey through it.
    Rpger

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  5. Thank you for this song, I cry every time I hear it as it reminds me of my daughter's abortion choice 7 years ago. Completely unaware until after she had this, it is still fresh in my heart and soul.

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  6. There are times and circumstances in our own life and of others where pain is to incomprehensible; then and there, "there are no words". Our faith in the Lord assures us that He holds and loves us, oh that there would be at least one other; to hold you.

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  7. I too, lost my daughter. But she was almost two and I watched her body deteriorate, my little girl suffering, for a year, to a horrible disease with no cure and no treatment. He held me in that hour that I held her lifeless body in my arms as she went to live with our Savior. Beautiful song.

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  8. I can’t read this blog, the font is too faint for my eyes and I’d love to read it. Would you please change it? Some of us have older eyes. Thanks!

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  9. I love this song ,i am not sure what about it just pulls at my heart and mind when i listen to it. To finally read the atory in which inspired this song is amazing because now i understand what it is talking about. Grief never really leaves us sometimes but to know what we will experience through Christ being by pur side is a great feeling and sometimes we lose sight of the feeling of hope,joy ,and just being held by the one who made us.

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  10. wow this song moves me hills and valleys surely our hope is born of suffering
    Samuel

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  11. This song has helped me to get stronger and stronger. I also lost a daughter to an incurable condition one week after birth.The loss surprisingly drew me closer to God than I'd ever been. The messages here have made me even stronger.Thanks for the inspiration

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  12. I wss wondering what this song was exactly about. Thought I would Google it and came here. Now I know. Precious, precious song. I could feel the sufferings in the words. Only God could heal such sorrow. Thank you for making this info possible to know. God bless you and all who reads this.

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  13. Hi I have experienced some of lifes negitive benefits and was injured 95 with a further injury a few years later both forever changed my life. Often seeking for Gods favour and healing has todate not come to physical manifestation. The most pain has come from well meaning christians offering to pray for healing and saying the wrong thing then loading me with condemnation because there was currently no change. We know that God is in control that he does not delight in our pain and His will is good acceptable and perfect. I have found more questions than answers when I see the good and innocent experience heart wrenching suffering and pain. I weep for the broken hearted each time I hear the song. Thank you for its beautiful lyrics

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  14. Hello David
    I run across your blog just like many other people here trying to know about Held by Natalie Grant.
    I am so sorry about your precious Jackie, I was event thinking she could of been a beautiful 25 year old young woman. Many times I think of the maybes.
    I lost my precious Gracie when I was only 16 weeks pregnant 11 years ago. I never got to hold my little girl, but God had a different plan for your Jackie and my Gracie. One day we will see our girls and what a glorious day it will be.

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  15. I could not believe this song when I first heard it. I fell in love with it, and want to hear it more. So moving to hear about Christie song, and the strong survivors who made it happen. I admire all of you. Like my sister says, we have to have hope. Thank you all.

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  16. I have been wandering what this song is about till I googled. It is surely sad to grief and loose a loved one but our only hope should be Christ. Hope is surely born of suffering. But to know that the promise is when everything fell we'd be held.#Blessed Assurance.
    It makes me think of the loved ones we have lost to covid. May God heal your broken souls❤️

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  17. Gods love is amazing, and He shows us this when we experience suffering, such as loss and then grief. In 2015, I lost my husband of 49 1/2 years to cancer, then in 2019 I lost my son Michael (37) to cirrhosis and again in 2020, only 12 months later I lost Christopher (43) to a motorcycle accident. Every word of this song, I can feel and know the meanings. In 1987, I gave birth to my 5th child Marie, who was stillborn after 18 weeks. God never promised us a life of ease and no pain, but through His grace and our faith, He sees us through the difficult times, and I have such wonderful memories of my boys. I truly know the meaning of the poem Footprints in the Sand.

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  18. Held!

    Held, 😪
    This is what it means to be held.

    Amidst what we lose when life throws stuff at us, HE, is right behind us, seeing us through!

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