I must confess that music plays a very large role in my life. If you want to know how my day, week, or even year is going listen to the music I am listening to and it will represent my thoughts, feelings, and outlook on life. I can remember when I listened to rap, hip hop, and R&B. For me music was an escape, another time to be somebody I wasn't and to vent anger. I still occasionally enjoy that type of music, but in very small amounts. Most of what I listen to now falls under the Christian banner, but I really enjoy stuff that doesn't sound like typical Christian music. David Crowder Band is perhaps my favorite. His music has such a transparency in its lyrics and a very original sound instrumentally. All this to say DCB has a new CD out, and I can't get it out of my CD player. Here is my favorite song if you wanna check it out...http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yp1ktIj-7Vw
So to get to the story, I have been listening to the song and just really soaking in the lyrics. For those that didn't listen, the lyrics go something like this;
Life is full of light and shadow
O the joy and O the sorrow
O the sorrow
And yet will He bring
Dark to light
And yet will He bring
Day from night
When shadows fall on us
We will not fear
We will remember
When darkness falls on us
We will not fear
We will remember
When all seems lost
When we're thrown and we're tossed
We remember the cost
We rest in Him
Shadow of the cross
So to me it put the 'shadows' of my life into perspective, in that I mean that the Shadow Jesus cast for us is the biggest Shadow I could ever imagine. Like I really thought about everything in my life, all the sad stuff, bad stuff, stuff I never understood in light of the Cross. In hindsight it was very refreshing. But to think about current bad stuff and current unexplainable stuff in light of the Cross provided a lot to consider.
I mentioned 2 ladies I work with earlier. One is mother of 3 kids and one of my closer friends at work. She has one of the biggest hearts I know. She found out this past week her mother's cancer has returned, and on the day she told me, it did not look good. I remember coming in to work the lunch shift and seeing her and knowing something was not right with her. I waited a while and tried to make small talk, and she couldn't hold it in. I gave her a hug and she cried softly and quickly went to the bathroom cause she didn't want to get too worked up. Maybe it's selfish of me, but anytime something like that happens to a friend of mine I think what would I feel like if that were my brother/sister/mom/dad or whoever is in pain. One thing that does, is put me in a place that is slow to throw out cliches, and quick to be silent and just listen. One of my mom's good friends says I am one of those folks that 'likes to get in the middle of people's lives and care for them.' I guess I try to do that, and when things are going great it is an awesome experience, but when tough times comes I sure feel more pain. I in no way mean that as a complaint, I will take the joys and the sorrows in my own life and to be there for friends and family is perhaps one the greatest gifts I have today.
The other lady I work had the same look of having some tougher things on her mind. After a small discussion she revealed that her brother in law had recently died. It is thought that he took his own life. How tragic it was, a husband and father of three little girls, not even 30 years old. My friend talked about the unexplainable nature of the deal, how no one had a clue and how sad she and her husband were that the time they had always missed hanging out with him. I have a large family and know how hard it is to stay up and current with everyone. I never imagine that one of us might die this early in life, but this story is a slap in the face that I need to make the biggest efforts I can to spend time with my family, period end of story. One other thing I considered was the time in my life that I was in a deep depression, and how I used to not see the light at the end of the tunnel. In those times I never once considered the pain that those around me would feel. I can't imagine my life without my older brother, it just wouldn't seem right.
The lesson I have realized while writing this blog is this. "Be kind, for everyone you meet is fighting some battle too." You see I saw these ladies in stressful situations at work. They were someone's server that day. Of course we can put on a mask, and make it look like everything is ok. But for me it is worth considering on a daily basis the situation someone else may be in that day before I respond in a manner that far outweighs the actual circumstances. Maybe they forgot a side of ranch for your fries or a refill, but can you really blame them???
O the sorrow
And yet will He bring
Dark to light
And yet will He bring
Day from night
When shadows fall on us
We will not fear
We will remember
When darkness falls on us
We will not fear
We will remember
When all seems lost
When we're thrown and we're tossed
We remember the cost
We rest in Him
Shadow of the cross
So to me it put the 'shadows' of my life into perspective, in that I mean that the Shadow Jesus cast for us is the biggest Shadow I could ever imagine. Like I really thought about everything in my life, all the sad stuff, bad stuff, stuff I never understood in light of the Cross. In hindsight it was very refreshing. But to think about current bad stuff and current unexplainable stuff in light of the Cross provided a lot to consider.
I mentioned 2 ladies I work with earlier. One is mother of 3 kids and one of my closer friends at work. She has one of the biggest hearts I know. She found out this past week her mother's cancer has returned, and on the day she told me, it did not look good. I remember coming in to work the lunch shift and seeing her and knowing something was not right with her. I waited a while and tried to make small talk, and she couldn't hold it in. I gave her a hug and she cried softly and quickly went to the bathroom cause she didn't want to get too worked up. Maybe it's selfish of me, but anytime something like that happens to a friend of mine I think what would I feel like if that were my brother/sister/mom/dad or whoever is in pain. One thing that does, is put me in a place that is slow to throw out cliches, and quick to be silent and just listen. One of my mom's good friends says I am one of those folks that 'likes to get in the middle of people's lives and care for them.' I guess I try to do that, and when things are going great it is an awesome experience, but when tough times comes I sure feel more pain. I in no way mean that as a complaint, I will take the joys and the sorrows in my own life and to be there for friends and family is perhaps one the greatest gifts I have today.
The other lady I work had the same look of having some tougher things on her mind. After a small discussion she revealed that her brother in law had recently died. It is thought that he took his own life. How tragic it was, a husband and father of three little girls, not even 30 years old. My friend talked about the unexplainable nature of the deal, how no one had a clue and how sad she and her husband were that the time they had always missed hanging out with him. I have a large family and know how hard it is to stay up and current with everyone. I never imagine that one of us might die this early in life, but this story is a slap in the face that I need to make the biggest efforts I can to spend time with my family, period end of story. One other thing I considered was the time in my life that I was in a deep depression, and how I used to not see the light at the end of the tunnel. In those times I never once considered the pain that those around me would feel. I can't imagine my life without my older brother, it just wouldn't seem right.
The lesson I have realized while writing this blog is this. "Be kind, for everyone you meet is fighting some battle too." You see I saw these ladies in stressful situations at work. They were someone's server that day. Of course we can put on a mask, and make it look like everything is ok. But for me it is worth considering on a daily basis the situation someone else may be in that day before I respond in a manner that far outweighs the actual circumstances. Maybe they forgot a side of ranch for your fries or a refill, but can you really blame them???
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