Saying Goodbye for Now

River Rise LyricsArtist(Band):India.Arie
Review The Song (0)
Print the Lyrics
There was always A power I could feel It was guidance To tell me the way to go--But nowadaysI feel like I can’t hear that voice I’ve been flying blindI need you to come, and be my eyes(Be my eyes)

Chorus:River riseCarry me back home(I cannot remember the ways)River riseCarry me back home(I surrender today)

I was always A charmed flower child I would sit for hoursAnd listen to the sky--But nowadays I feel like I don’t have that choice I’ve been looking down in desperation I need you to be my inspiration(My inspiration)

Chorus:River riseCarry me back home(I cannot remember the ways)River rise Carry me back home(I surrender today)

I bow down And I humble myself I can’t do thisLord I need your help All the material thingsThey feel like chains If you’re not here beside me You’re the reason I sing(Help me to remember the way) I surrender--Help me to remember Only you can show me(Only you can show me the way) I surrender(I surrender today)You are the only way Lord I need you

The loss of a friend is hard. The older you get the more you start to see the results of the life you have lived and the life that your friends have lived. The recent lost of a friend really hit me hard. I met Erica through my husband, whose best friend became her husband. We were all married the same year. The news of her homegoing was all too much. She had been sick a long time but was such a fighter. We had just talked to her. It was a shock. I said to myself, "One of my friends has left the planet." She had an amazingly good heart. Erica took everything in stride and without complaint. Some of us favor the pity party approach, but people like Erica are inspirational. In the end, she was ready and she left us better for knowing her.


This was the state of mind I found myself in when I started listening to my new India Arie CD. One song was tugging at my heart before I really listened to the words. So, I stopped to really listen. The song was “River Rise.” It speaks of being lost and finding your way back to God and Gods voice in your life. For me the true mark of a good song is if it makes me stop and be honest with myself. Tears usually follow. There I was in the middle my work day trying not to make a total fool of myself, but some things are too important to fake. A true authentic moment with yourself is one of those moments. I took the risk and breathed in the song.


The imagine of something being able to carry you back to God's loving arms in times of confusion really resonated with me. I had been going through a time of extreme pressure. It seems that everything on my plate was hot and sliding off. I went through weeks of feeling off balance and reacting, not to mention acting out of emotion. All of the things, I knew not to do; I did. All of the thing I knew not to stop doing, I stopped. The end result was misery. Then you wake-up from your hormonal fit and think, how did I get suckered into that state of mind? I know better. My answer is always the same. You are a human being. My response, however, this time was different. What can I do everyday to be stronger the next time the challenge comes? I want to recognize those "vain imagination" as fast as possible. I use to call them scary movies. You know, all of those scenes we play out in our minds until we start to believe they are real events.



The bottom line is this. Christianity is marked by periods of extreme closeness to God and times when He seems like He does not know your name. I have learned that during those times of God’s silence, like the sun, He is still above the clouds looking down on you in love. He wants us to learn how to crawl and walk and speak in sentences without His saying, “That’s my big girl” every five minutes. We have to know that we are His. That is salvation. No matter what the season, His word is yes and amen. Like John Osteen taught me, "Find out what God's Word says about your situation and act like He's telling you the truth!"