Tag Archives: Bernadette Farrell

“God Beyond All Names” by Bernadette Farrell

God, beyond our dreams, you have stirred in us a memory,
you have placed your powerful spirit in the hearts of humankind.

All around us, we have known you;
all creation lives to hold you,
In our living and our dying
we are bringing you to birth.

God, beyond all names, you have made us in your image,
we are like you, we reflect you, we are woman, we are man.

All around us, we have known you;
all creation lives to hold you,
In our living and our dying
we are bringing you to birth

God, beyond all words, all creation tells your story,
you have shaken with our laughter, you have trembled with our tears.

All around us, we have known you;
all creation lives to hold you,
In our living and our dying
we are bringing you to birth

God, beyond all time, you are laboring within us;
we are moving, we are changing, in your spirit ever new.

All around us, we have known you;
all creation lives to hold you,
In our living and our dying
we are bringing you to birth

God of tender care, you have cradled us in goodness,
you have mothered us in wholeness, you have loved us into birth.

All around us, we have known you;
all creation lives to hold you,
In our living and our dying
we are bringing you to birth

Source: Musixmatch

Songwriters: Bernadette Mary Farrell

Dear God, I heard this song in church yesterday morning, and I really stuck with me. Honestly, I think it is the haunting tune even more than the lyrics, but the lyrics are lovely worship of you as well. I thought I would spend some time with it this morning.

God, beyond our dreams, you have stirred in us a memory,
you have placed your powerful spirit in the hearts of humankind.

It’s amazing you choose to reveal yourself to us at all. You could sit there silently. You could walk away and ignore us. But that’s not what you do. You speak to us. You reveal yourself to us. You put a hole in us that looks for you to fill it.

God, beyond all names, you have made us in your image,
we are like you, we reflect you, we are woman, we are man.

What does it mean to be made in your image? What gives us a soul? What is in us that could possibly look like you? I feel very inadequate to even sit here right now and express my love to you. To worship you. To say that I will take you into this world and reflect you to the world. That seems ridiculous to me because I am such a poor representative of you. Help me to be just a little bit better reflection of you today.

God, beyond all words, all creation tells your story,
you have shaken with our laughter, you have trembled with our tears.

There are no words that can describe you, but the beauty of creation is more than all of the words I could possibly conjure. You are amazing, God. Everything around me attests to that.

God, beyond all time, you are laboring within us;
we are moving, we are changing, in your spirit ever new.

I was going through some pictures of myself from 35 years ago yesterday. I was 19 then. I’m 54 now. I thought I knew so much. Even now, I think I know so much. But one day I will look back on 54 and think about how young I was. How naive. Thank you for laboring within me. Moving me. Changing me.

God of tender care, you have cradled us in goodness,
you have mothered us in wholeness, you have loved us into birth.

Oh, Father, comfort me. Comfort my wife. Comfort my children and their significant others. Heal us. Make us whole, Father, God.

All around us, we have known you;
all creation lives to hold you,
In our living and our dying
we are bringing you to birth

I know you, Father, in that I know you are there. I know you are beyond what I can know. I know you love me. I know you are rooting for me. You comfort me. You live through me and bless others. Help me to not hurt, but to bless in your name and with fruit of your Spirit.

I pray all of this in Jesus and with your Holy Spirit,

Amen