Music helps me think, relax, cry, praise, and celebrate. Something is always playing around my home, be it jazz, R&B, gospel, heavy metal, opera, Celtic, Bluegrass and of course C&W. You'll notice I reference music quite a bit because it transcends all barriers. Like sports, a good team (or in this case sound) can transform the world. I enjoy music because it tells a story, reveals a culture, exposes an emotion, and can express things we sometimes cannot say.
There's a country song by Miranda Lambert released in 2009 that takes us through a life journey of struggles, disappointments, success, and celebrations. All these events and emotions have the singer reflecting on her beginning, where it all started for this lost lady. She looks back to her formative years to try and understand who she is, and who she has become. She takes a long journey back to where she started... I've often thought about the many people that I've encountered around the world who share my thoughts and stories, who like me, try to walk in faith but some days struggle with our foundational presets, the way we were taught to think and feel. Many of us are like Miranda's song - in search of who we are, and hoping to understand how we got to where we've landed in this volatile, sometimes wonderful, albeit heartbreaking journey called life. It's not a hard question to answer, but definitely a tough journey to retrace. For some, it can be a very raw, painful experience. For all of us, it can be an awakening. The church is the house that built me. Worship was mandatory in my parents and grandparents' homes, respectively. I attended church so often that I swore when adult emancipation came I would never step foot in a church again (the simple thoughts of a disgruntled teen!). But as I got older and experienced new journeys in my life, I realized I needed that soul-stirring foundation, and I also learned that church begins in the heart. It's not relegated to simple brick and mortar.
Worship transcends the physical and opens fellowship to and for all. My conviction and faith in Christ have become so intrinsic in me that I must share Him and His word with the world. Amen. So I want to encourage those of you who still struggle with where you are in life to be brave, be strong, look back, and reflect on then and now. Was your foundation built on solid ground? Do you understand who you are and your purpose? What stalls your path and faith? What inspires you to keep moving forward? I want to let you know that the house of God has a herculean foundation. It's not always a building, it's a way of life. A life that still must face struggles, disappointments, and tragedies. But it also offers comfort, peace, wisdom, protection, and everlasting life.
So as you reflect and begin to rebuild your foundation remember to preserve room for Him. His work and words are the foundation of the house that built love. Share your testimony of God, faith, and love with a heart that needs you...Amen.
Proverbs 24:3-4
By wisdom, a house is built, and by understanding it is established; by knowledge, the rooms are filled with all precious and pleasant riches.
Luke 1:37
For nothing will be impossible with God. Isaiah 26:3-4 You keep him in perfect peace whose mind is stayed on you because he trusts in you. Trust in the Lord forever, for the Lord God is an everlasting rock.
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