Someone Let the Train Lady Know

On a train, more than a year ago, a lady I had never met before and haven't seen since asked for my copy of C.S. Lewis's The Four Loves that was sticking out of my jacket pocket. She saw my guitar and told me to "write that song." Whether she knew it or not, she was talking about a very specific song that I had begun to write that I was just calling "my Godsong." A line or two would come to me every few days and I would write them down, but I had been pretty laid back about actually trying to get the song finished.

Fast forward to the end of this past March. At a church retreat the pastor speaking that weekend encouraged us to chase after dreams that God has put in our heart; things we have always wanted to do, but never pursued. These things God puts on our hearts are not only there, but should be pursued for the strengthening of the church and to honor God: "When you come together, everyone has a hymn, or a word of instruction, a revelation, a tongue or an interpretation. All of these things must be done for the strengthening of the church." (1 Corinthians 14:26) Note that doing these things is not a "you can if you feel like it." Paul tells us that these things must be done!

Trust me, as soon as you start pursuing whatever dream or skill God has put in you, it gets exciting. After I heard this word of encouragement and heard some of the things those around me had been working on, I decided to get serious about my desire to write songs. I already had a song or two mostly written. I began to work on them more and more, and this past Wednesday I recorded my first one at my college library's media center... what better time to chase this God-given dream, when I have free access to a recording studio!

I'm not a fluent musician. I've sung before, but I haven't seriously taken in up in more than a year. I've been playing guitar on and off for three years, which means that I'm very much still an amateur. Every time I get hung up on these things, though, God reminds me of Moses who had no confidence in his ability to speak in front of people.

It doesn't matter if your dream that you want to chase is in a field or area that you have little to no experience in. I don't feel good enough on my own to actually write and record songs. Moses didn't feel like asking the leader of a powerful nation to free the entire labor force and leading millions of people through the desert for several decades, and look what happened to him.

And if that's not enough, Paul encourages us in this yet again, in Philippians 1:6: "...being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus."

Write that song. Write that book. Write that poem. Write that commentary on Habakkuk. Paint that painting. Design that architecture. Sculpt that sculpture. Write that blog. Film that movie (start with a short). Choreograph that dance. Try your hand at stand-up (if you can be funny, clean, and God-honoring, you'll have a strong following in no time). Take that picture. Take a lot more pictures. Perform that role. Write that play. Write that manifesto for a new way to look at an area of study (if you're into it, sociology could really use one). Write that play that doubles as a manifesto. Write that manifesto for a completely new are of study. Review that music. Review that movie. Surf that wave. Ride that half-pipe. Style that hair. Do pedicures in the name of Jesus. Do anything. For Jesus. For God. He'll make it more than you can dream it would be.