"Into the Unknown"

I keep hearing it. The singing. The call ringing out. It just won’t leave my brain. The three title words keep vibrating between my ears. Truly, I should know by now that any song my daughter sings especially ones from any movie called Frozen is bound to get stuck bouncing around in my head. Elsa’s new song “Into the Unknown” is my five year old’s new favorite. Maybe it is the voice calling Elsa or maybe it is the story behind the song that draws my daughter in, but it also draws me in too. 

There have been a lot of songs that my daughter has sung. Most do get caught in my head bouncing around for hours, but none like this one has tugged at my heart so strongly. Yes, I know it is just a Disney movie, you could say. How could something spiritual come from it? But for me those words, Into the Unknown, won’t go away. They keep pulling me in. For days I have been wondering why, why does this song bring me to tears. I know the Holy Spirit is speaking to me, but what is he saying exactly is unclear. 

It wasn’t until I received an email to start the new year from one of the author’s I subscribe to, Margaret Feinberg. She asked for me to pick “One Word” for this year. I knew it immediately, Unknown. I didn’t even have to go through her letter. I didn’t need to pray anymore about choosing one word. I instantly knew the answer because it has been stirring in my heart for weeks. 

What now? I know my word, but what on earth does it mean. Why Unknown? What is going to happen this year that is going to take me into the unknown. That is when I go back to the song. The more I listen to it and read the lyrics I see something more than just a great Disney hit song. I keep imagining the secret siren as the Holy Spirit calling us into the unknown. He never asks us to stay comfortable. He challenges us to step forward into something scary and unknown. Just like Elsa felt the voice calling her grow stronger and stronger until she couldn’t resist it any more. She finally had to leave the comfortable and the familiar to understand her story and her calling. I too need to be willing to follow the voice of the Holy Spirit calling me into something I don’t understand or can fathom. So I am reminded of a famous quote, “If you want to make God laugh, tell him about your plans.” 

Still I sit here at the beginning on 2020 with this one word echoing over and over again. I don’t know what it means for me, but what I do know is that something is coming and when it does become clear I need to be ready to follow His voice Into the Unknown.