Oh how she loved the morning

So God took her in the afternoon

       –  Terry Scott Taylor from the song, “The Afternoon”

Speaking of favorite lines from songs (“Nobody’s right if everybody’s wrong…”), my all-time favorite is: “Oh how she loved the morning, so God took her in the afternoon,” from the song, “The Afternoon,” on the album, “Avocado Faultline” by Terry Scott Taylor.

It’s a gorgeous song you can hear on YouTube by clicking on the title. Here are the lyrics to the first verse:

How she loved the dawn’s golden colors

Brushed on the tree-arched vestibule

Alone, she’d go out dancin’

‘Cross the quilt of morning dew

Had a soul for risin’ early

And a heart for leavin’ soon

Oh how she loved the morning

So God took her in the afternoon

Don’t ask me to read that whole verse out loud; I simply cannot get through it.

It’s a song about a special person Terry knew who died of cancer. I love the lyrics for a number of reasons. They capture so much about this person. I love her worship of God in the morning surrounded by the beauty of His creation. But what I love the most is the interaction of God within that moment. They shared this time together, and the implication is that even God was reluctant to let it go.

We’ve all heard how glorious heaven is going to be. We’ve heard how we all will be close to God, how we will somehow be able to experience Him — all of us — together. Certainly, a moment in this earthly context can’t hold a candle to a similar moment in heaven. This woman and God will enjoy an eternity of dancing together. And yet, even knowing that, God is going to grant one more morning with Him in heaven, and her here in her vulnerable, fragile human body. I like the way this lends credibility to our experience of God here on earth. It’s not heaven, but maybe it’s closer than we think.