Love spoke my name
And I felt life run through me
Reborn in the flame
Nothing can undo me
Ooh, I believe
That I'm becoming
So if my beauty starts to fade
Well, I've been held in a thousand ways
And if my heart looks broken in
Then I've been brave enough to live
If perfect turns to perfect mess
And all your love is all that's left
Then I'm as real as real can be
Call me Velveteen
Shadow and light
I learned to let them find me
Coming alive
Feels a lot like dying
Ooh, I believe
That I'm becoming
I know it's true no matter
True no matter how
I feel
'Cause I'm becoming
I'm becoming real
So if my beauty starts to fade
If my heart looks broken in
So if my beauty starts to fade
Well, I've been held in a thousand ways
And if my heart looks broken in
Then I've been brave enough to live
If perfect turns to perfect mess
And all your love is all that's left
Then I'm as real as real can be
I'm as real as real can be
Then I'm as real as real can be
Call me Velveteen
-Christa Wells, from her album, Velveteen
This song is part of the playlist I created to help me process my grief. I shared it a few weeks ago in a post I wrote about how to make peace with Grief. Music has helped me process the griefs and transitions in my life. Let’s do a little Musica Divina (using music to look for the hand of God in our lives.) with these lyrics and see where God may be speaking to our hearts today.
“Reborn in the flame”. In a woman’s life, we are always in the process of becoming. In order to receive the new we must let go of the old. How has God used the flames of life to birth something new in you? Or how is He currently using the flames of life to call you into something new? Are you ready or resistant? Why?
“So if my beauty starts to fade/Well, I've been held in a thousand ways”. What are the feelings that rise up when you see yourself aging? Our culture tells us we can control this and should do everything in our power to do so. Even our trials can attempt to fade the beauty of our lives. How does this stanza encourage you to resist the focus on how beauty fades and instead reflect on all the ways Love held you in the moments that threatened the beauty in your life?
“If perfect turns to perfect mess/And all your love is all that's left/Then I'm as real as real can be” Are there circumstances in your life or in your past that these words speak to? Can you hear the letting go in these words? Does this letting go of perfect and embracing Love”s sufficiency appeal to your heart? What would it look like in your life to allow yourself to be real, raw, and authentic instead of striving for a perfection that depletes your soul?