Road Trip Music

It has been an up-and-down weekend to say the least.  Family dynamics blended seamlessly one moment and chafed the next.  Smiles were easy, natural, then felt forced, faked and out of place.  Granted it wasn’t a roller-coaster type of ‘up and down’, but as can happen in life, it seemed to ebb a little more than it flowed.

Recently I’ve also been hearing (and thinking) about roads and how they take us places, and how it’s not too late to change direction while you’re still above ground.  I’ve messed up a lot of things in 39 years, and I’ve wondered, at times, if I’ve done so irreparably.  I know God can restore and redeem that which seems forever lost and completely unsalvageable.  At least deep down I did.  But it had all been tucked away with a few too many “Yes, but what if . . .?” scenarios over the last little while.  So it was good to be reminded of the bigness of God the past few weeks.  Plus, a fellow traveler by the name of C.S. Lewis once wrote, “You are never too old to set another goal or dream a new dream.”  And a Google search for quotes on roads travelled in life brought up another gem by Carl Bard (an author according to another quick Google search):  “Though no one can go back and make a brand new start, anyone can start now and make a brand new ending.”

And as many do, I also turned to a few song favourites as of late to reflect on, mellow out to, and be encouraged by – a bit of a soundtrack of sorts from the last month or so.  (After all, what’s a road trip without some music?)

1.     Stop This Train by John Mayer – a reflection on aging parents, an aging self, and the desire at times to stop time so we can maybe go back to when things were simpler.

2.     Meteor Shower by Owl City – a soft, lyrical song reminding me I’m not my own and how much I, too, need Jesus.

3.     Never Saw You Coming by Bebo Norman – sometimes when we’re looking at everything but God is when He comes with what we didn’t even really know we needed until it was there in front of us.  If that makes any sense.  :-p

4.     SMS (Shine) by David Crowder*Band – even if such a cool concept for the video had never been realized, the song alone speaks in many a situation to many a heart. 

5.     In Repair by John Mayer – I’m not a huge John Mayer fan, really.  We bought the CD because my husband liked what he had heard of his guitar work.  But this song resonated with me because I, too, “. . . am not together, but I’m getting there . . .”

6.     Rescue by Seabird – when I’m feeling frustrated or at the end of my rope or even pretty happy, this is a good song to sing along to.  The lyrics sound rather hopeless in parts, but then you hit the chorus and bam!  Rescue! 

What about you?  Are any songs resonating in one way or another with you as of late?  Feel free to share them in the comments section below.