The greatest song I’ve ever written…

I have a constant ache to create.

I believe that we’re all born with it. I think it is part of being made in the image of God. We’re created to create, just as He creates. Our creative capacities and impulses no doubt differ from one person to the next, but as a whole, I believe that every human has an innate desire to craft something of worth. Whether you are a songwriter, poet, painter, parent, interior designer, or anything else, I believe that this longing to create something of value and beauty resides in us all.

My desire to create has been satisfied, to some extent, over the past year. That doesn’t at all mean that I don’t feel the urge to write a melody, or a poem, or a song on a regular basis. That compulsion still exists and I have to attend to it constantly, sometimes quenching it, sometimes appeasing it, sometimes postponing it.

But for the most part, over the last year, my creative inclinations have been temporarily contented. I think I have a pretty good understanding of why. If you feel like you’ve composed a masterpiece, it’s very hard to go back to writing anything less…;)

Happy birthday, my son.
March 8, 2010

20 years with Christ

Today is my birthday. I say that not to provoke well wishes from anyone who may stumble upon this post, but to simply connect today with a much more notable attribute of this time for me. When I look ahead to the coming year, the most significant part of it that stands out is the fact that this spring will mark my 20th year in my walk with Christ.

I could write for hours about my stubborn resistance to sanctification over these past twenty years, my obstinate hesitancy to trust the God I’ve walked with all this time, but that’s not my intention here.

I want to look back at the wells of water that have quenched my thirst along my journey, the Ebenezers that have been raised along the path, the altars that I’ve built in order to remember the unwavering faithfulness of God. I can, without hesitation, sing with the psalmist “surely goodness and mercy will follow me all the days of my life, and I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever” because that has been the theme of my journey thus far.

I can look back and clearly mark the moments of mercy. I can still taste the goodness of the Lord that I experienced along the way. True, the deserts have been arid. There have been times where I have felt so off course. The communion I’ve shared at His table has been consistently sweet, though I’ve rejected His friendship more times than I can possibly count. My faith has often been misplaced. My vain and corrupt searches for my own kingdom have left me exhausted. I’ve doubted, wandered, and resented. I’ve been skeptical of His goodness, wrestled with envy, and grappled with apathy.

But I have tasted and the taste still lingers, even in times of disenchantment. The wellsprings along the path have always led me into an even deeper relationship with the One I journey with.

And He continues to invite me onward… into the next twenty years.