When I was a little girl
I used to sing so freely
I’d send out notes like butterflies
Stored up in infinite supply
So unafraid to let them go
And land wherever they might
I never wondered if they fluttered just so
Or if their wings were sufficiently bright and beautiful
I would not think of anyone who might oppose their flight
I’d only lift my voice and send them up into the sky
Oh how I used to dance and sing
Without regard for who might see
I could not keep my song inside
And so I let it out
Out above the tall, tall trees
Out below the deep blue sea
Out beyond the clouds, and sky
And all the shining stars
But, that was far back in the past
For ignorant bliss, it rarely lasts
I used to sing so freely,
Before I learned what it meant to be crushed
Crushed by the weight of every trouble that I cannot change
Crushed for every broken heart that only seems to remember pain
Crushed in my spirit every time that I do not succeed
Crushed underfoot of those who gladly walk all over me
Crushed under an avalanche of cold shoulders like snow
Crushed in my soul with every unfounded utterance of “no”
Crushed for every dream that’s died since I was a child
Crushed by all the sadness that so permeates this broken world
But you Oh Lord, are loving and mighty
There is nothing that cannot be healed in your hands
You, Oh Lord, with only a word
Can make what was crushed become whole again
You, Oh Lord, with only a breath
Can breathe life into what was dead
So I am asking you, oh Lord,
To resurrect my butterflies, and to restore my song
To lift my head and free my soul
To sing even more freely than I did before
Let every note rise on wings of joy
Colored by love and hallelujahs
Lifted high by winds of gratitude and praise
Let my feet dance to the song for all of my days