Thursday, February 3, 2011

Chasing Cars


The other night at work they offered a life painting session form 6:00pm-9:00pm. Since I usually linger in Glendale anyways to miss traffic on my 47 mile commute I was all in! I was excited and nervous, I hadn't done thins kind of painting in ages! I was also excited for the quiet time this would provide. In a room filled with other people painting it is you are all alone together.

As I was painting I was praying that the Lord would speak to me. An hour or so goes by and nothing, so I rummage through my bag and get out my ear buds and plug them into my iPhone. I didn't know what to listen to, so I go to a playlist I made in the summer of 2009 called, "Songs I Like Right Now". Now for some back story on this particular playlist, this playlist in it's day was the "ish"! I was on tour that summer and had a LOT of down time driving from state to state to work on this sucker. All that to say that these were not just random songs. Back to painting! So I hit shuffle on that play list, "Chasing Cars" by Snow Patrol comes on. While listening to this I realized I liked this song a lot more back then. It was actually kind of annoying. I ask myself and God why is that? I used to love this song! Then the Lord spoke to me, He said, "You used to like this song because you had a similar wound as the men and women who created it. It spoke to you on an intimate level. Between now and then you have trusted me with that wound and I have healed it. Our intimacy eclipses shallow nature of what that song meant to you."

I was blessed and humbled by this revelation. Humbled in the since that I can now choose to be a little more patient when people tend to like songs, books, or movies that I find stupid.

I hope that made sense.

12 comments:

  1. You are one cool dude. That is definitely the first thing that came to mind when I finished reading this post. I love the painting and yes, I love the song too. I can also identify with open wounds that are healed only when we give them up to God, holding our hands out and letting God give and take as He pleases. Thanks so much for this. I hope you have a great night brother. You are certainly one cool dude. Cheers.

    ReplyDelete
  2. This is so beautiful...both the painting and your words! Praise God for being the ultimate healer...I needed that reminder, and I so appreciate you sharing with us!

    ReplyDelete
  3. this is very true. :) how quick we are to judge or condemn or scoff at the idea of what someone else deems beautiful.

    ReplyDelete
  4. Omg bro that just hit me like a ton of friggin bricks...geez.

    I ALWAYS get mad at the music my brother likes, but that is cuz he is in a completely different spot in life than I am at. this totally makes sense

    ReplyDelete
  5. I have always loved looking back at my "favorites" playlist from past years for exactly this reason. In my life, songs provide an immediate reminder of where I was, what I was thinking, and how I felt during certain chapters of my life.

    Actually we're going to talking more about this idea next week! Great post and excellent segway.

    ReplyDelete
  6. So...I should stop mocking people who incessantly listen to Katy Perry?

    ReplyDelete
  7. Thanks for making it all make sense and I love the painting. You have a true gift.

    ReplyDelete
  8. Totally makes sense! And I speak as someone who believes that music speaks to the soul. At least it does to mine. And i believe it does to everyone whether they realize it or not. This was an awesome post! Thanks for sharing!!

    ReplyDelete
  9. F ::

    Word. Your realization further triggered me to reflect on the ways in which God has used certain artists, lyrics and melodies to provoke His healing in my heart. I love it when a certain line in a song makes your heart beat a little quicker, and your blood flow hot and sweet. and sometimes you don't even know why...It drives you to further engage in the lyrics and the message. Example :: recently I've been strangely attracted to a song called " Via Dolorosa " by Leeland. Long story short, the lyrics, as I dove deeper into them, revealed that by way of grief and pain ( via dolorosa ) Jesus carried our sin away. THUS, I don't have to accept the grief and pain that sin creates. Even when the sin in someone elses life tries to "get at me", I need to recognize that the power of hell is broken. A cliche' made into an experienced wisdom.

    ReplyDelete
  10. So awesome!
    You're an excellent writer frank!
    encouraging to ask and stay still and listen!

    ReplyDelete
  11. hahahaha relieved to know you won't hate on my music lol. AMEN to God healing broken wounds! and LOVE the painting...

    ReplyDelete
  12. Nice...and I've discovered some songs that I DIDN'T like before, that I like now.

    ReplyDelete