But I trust in your unfailing love; my heart rejoices in your salvation. ~ Psalm 13:5

Some love is just a lie of the heart
The cold remains of what began with a passionate start
And they may not want it to end
But it will it’s just a question of when
I’ve lived long enough to have learned
The closer you get to the fire the more you get burned
But that won’t happen to us
Because it’s always been a matter of trust

Trust you say? Everybody wants it, but few actually have it. Who can you trust? Friends? Family? Lovers? When you’ve lived as long as I have, you can get a bit jaundiced when it comes to matters of the heart. And, despite the reference to getting burned, we know that it’s a cold, hard world out there. And, in times like these, it feels like it’s only getting colder. But we have to try…what would life be if we didn’t even try?

I know you’re an emotional girl
It took a lot for you to not lose your faith in this world
I can’t offer you proof
But you’re going to face a moment of truth
It’s hard when you’re always afraid
You just recover when another belief is betrayed
So break my heart if you must
It’s a matter of trust

So, how do we go on? How do we pick up the pieces and try again? It’s not easy, but we have to have faith and trust. We can start with our faith and trust in our Lord and Savior and build from that. I have often heard faith described as “choosing to believe in something despite the absence of proof”. No one can offer us proof that we can fully trust them, until we take that first leap of faith. We have to have the courage to take that first step forward. Only then can they begin to earn that trust.

You can’t go the distance
With too much resistance
I know you have doubts
But for God’s sake don’t shut me out

Now, I’m not saying we shouldn’t be prudent. I’m not saying we should be careless with our hearts. I’m not saying we should be totally open books with the pages flapping in the wind. But, at some point, you have to hold out your hand (and your heart). Because the bottom line is; we can choose to be open and trusting, or we can choose to be closed and unbelieving. And that, my friends, is no way to live this life.

This time you’ve got nothing to lose
You can take it, you can leave it
Whatever you choose
I won’t hold back anything
And I’ll walk a way a fool or a king
Some love is just a lie of the mind
It’s make believe until its only a matter of time
And some might have learned to adjust
But then it never was a matter of trust

A friend of mine recently wrote something on this subject that really touched me (I’ll paraphrase it here) and it inspired a lot of what is in this post.  She said that you can’t just stop loving, or wanting to love, because when it’s right, it’s the best thing in the world. Words have never rung more true to me. To try to deny the most human, most personal of our basic needs is an exercise in futility. You just can’t hold it back, no matter how hard you try.

I’m sure you’re aware love
We’ve both had our share of
Believing too long
When the whole situation was wrong

Billy Joel has written a lot of songs that follow this theme (“Keeping The Faith”, “Honesty” and “The Longest Time” are a few that come to mind), so we know that he has experienced these same feelings, very deeply and often. This song, long one of my “80’s Billy Joel” favorites came off his tenth studio album, The Bridge. “A Matter of Trust” went all the way up to #10 on the Billboard Hot 100 shortly after it’s release on July 28, 1986. The Bridge was Billy’s follow up to his 1983 lp, An Innocent Man, which was widely recognized as his doo-wop laced “celebration of love” to Christie Brinkley, and it’s clear that he was still basking in the glow from his burgeoning relationship with her.

Some love is just a lie of the soul
A constant battle for the ultimate state of control
After you’ve heard lie upon lie
There can hardly be a question of why
Some love is just a lie of the heart
The cold remains of what began with a passionate start
But that can’t happen to us
Because it’s always been a matter of trust

Now, of course, we know that it can happen to us.  Billy and Christie’s relationship didn’t last forever and, sadly, it’s clear that this happens more often than not.  But, I’ve always felt that the spirit and essence of this song totally captured the hopes and dreams that we all have of finding, and keeping, that perfect relationship.

And, it’s out there…trust me. You just have to take that first step.

Enjoy the original video here;