Saturday 23 February 2013

We Belong



Being the shortest of the months, February is almost over. For me, this month began out in the wops with a bunch of young adults who are eager to live lives of faith with integrity and intentionality. I had the privilege and the pleasure of being a bit of a mentor to some of the participants. We talked and taught, we sang and sat silent, we played and we prayed. 

One night, around midnight, I sat down with Zoe, Tessa and Trevor (Petra lay down on the couch and went to sleep). We had a pen or two and some paper, and a couple of guitars. Life happens differently when it’s late at night and your body and your brain are tired. In our fatigue we discovered a lullaby; a song to put our souls at rest. 

I learnt something about God that night; something about us partnering in the creation of stuff; something about us being made in the image of God the Creator. I had some words, Tessa had some music, Zoe had some melodies, Trevor had some questions, and Petra had a stillness for us to sing over. 
I rejoiced as words became lyrics, and lyrics became a melody, and a melody became a song - a song that gets stuck in my spirit. 

I wrote the words a while back. They were about the people of St Paul’s Church in Katikati. They were about journey and pilgrimage and being loved by God and by one another. But they were always about more than just the people of St Paul’s; they were about the disciples on the road to Emmaus, they were about the different people I’ve journeyed with along the way, they were about The Way. I don’t have the words to describe what I mean – that’s what the song is for. 

What was even more exciting was when Sam turned our late night strumming with sore fingers on steel stringed guitars into something beautiful. For me to share this with you I had to try my luck at movie making. I’ve used an image depicting the story of the disciples on the road to Emmaus. I don’t know who this picture belongs too; you’ll have to ask Jason, he’s the one who introduced me to this work of art (Jason and Google). 

This is “We Belong”. This is for you.