too much rain...
I admit it: I had a great time last night and although the jury's still out on whether this concert was in fact worth the inflated ticket price, it is at least in the "money well spent" ballpark. While I'm confessing, I also agreed to being bilked for another nice chunk of change to acquire a program for Kevin, pewter bracelet for myself and t-shirt for Shawna. I am a marketer's dream.
I didn't show up in a Sgt. Pepper's coat. I didn't scream. I didn't drool or throw my bra on stage. I did enjoy myself. Paul's pretty amazing. And his band flat out rocked. All the tech stuff rocked. Way, way cool. I clapped some but mostly just sat and took it all in. I smiled at Pam looking like a bopper. I smiled at Kevin looking like he might cry at any moment. I smiled that Shawna was sitting next to him. I was glad to be there and at some point it began to sink in that being there actually was a pretty awesome thing and that as far as this life goes, times like these are sometimes hard to come by.
Most of the evening I felt more like an observer than a participant, but when we got to the na na's in Hey Jude, and the crowd started singing I opened my mouth and sang along. I wanted to sing with the legend that is Paul McCartney and it was a cool moment. Very cool. Cool enough in fact that he just claimed another fan :) I know I joked about having to listen to him all the way there but on the way home I was the one who wanted to give Flaming Pie another listen. Who knew? There are for sure a couple projects that only saw the light of day because of who he is, but there is some really nice work there that I hadn't really appreciated until now. (Perhaps I'll need to suffer through a Dylan concert after all...)
Kevin followed Flaming Pie with some of his lesser known recordings, some good, some not so good, some "what was he thinking?" and somewhere in there it began to rain. The clouds had been flirting with us all day but they decided to commit and commit they did. I finally turned off the CD player hoping to concentrate a little more on the pavement that had become nearly impossible to see. The skies looked heavy and dark and our wipers suck. There were people pulling over but we persevered especially since Shawna needed to be back for fuel tonight. There was a van off the road and I kept visualizing the Almighty's hands surrounding us, keeping us safe. Shawna asked if I'd play the song she was supposed to lead at fuel tonight so we popped it in. #4 on the Hillsongs United 'Look to You' CD. We listened to "All I Need Is You" singing along with the chorus, still a bit tense from the dealing with the elements. Pam commented that the sun was setting and she could see glimpses of it through the black sky. At the end of the song I skipped ahead to #11 "Til I See You" and it began:
"It" was something I will not be able to recreate for you here. But it was just way too amazing not to try. This song is one of those "change your life" kinds of songs, or at least if your blood is warm it should be. I wish you could hear it playing as you read this. The sky that had been dangerously black began to clear and the rain that had threatened to blind us began to soften. The sun that Pam had promised was setting behind the clouds began to reclaim the sky and for the next 20 minutes or so, we were kissed by our Creator and we kissed Him back.
I was driving 75 but it felt like we were in slow motion. I hate this. I can't write this well enough to describe it all. You know that scene in Contact when she wakes up on the beach? How beautiful it is? How serene, how "other" it is? Well, it felt like we were driving, or floating through a piece of heaven, like the van was gliding through Jell-O or something. And no, we weren't high from last night's event. She (sorry Ryan, but it was Darlene and it was gorgeous...) began to sing of the faithfulness of God, of His calm in the midst of a storm, I'm telling you, it was like a movie soundtrack. The colors of the sky, the expanse of the heavens, the sprinkles of rain, the nearness of the Father. I wanted to pull over and at the same time, there was something surreal about the movement of the van against the sky. I felt suspended in time. Words won't do it justice. We didn't speak. I know we were all just captivated by the beauty of the whole thing. The CD ends with none other than an extended arrangement of "Awesome God" and it carried us through the exit for home. Now this guy, this God of mine, I would throw myself on the stage for Him, and if eternity begins anything like this, I won't be screaming, I'll be smiling, face and hands up in the air taking it all in and speechless.
I had liked the song "Too Much Rain" on Paul's latest CD even before I heard it live, but I like it even more now. I'm sure it resonated with me because of losing dad and all, but after the storm tonight it has added significance. It was not lost on me that in the midst of the rain, when we can't see two feet in front of us, the hands that orchestrate the setting sun, whether we can see it or not, holds us, whether we know it or not. And honestly there are days that simply have too much rain, btdt more than once, but that sun tonight and the sky that surrounded it, not only escape my description, but deepen my appreciation for the rain. I have encountered His presence watching a lovely sunset at the end of a lovely day, but experiencing this one as it appeared at the end of a torrential downpour was a divine encounter with the One who speaks it into being.
A couple weeks ago my dad called me several times one evening in the midst of a little storm chasing. His last call that night was to tell me to look at the sky. A sky that from where he was located afforded him the view of a triple rainbow. I couldn't see it from my yard but I enjoyed it through his eyes. I'm electing to believe he saw the one tonight and that maybe, just maybe he isn't that far away. And Paul is indeed a legend in our time and his music moved me and entertained me, but it didn't change me and it didn't make me long for home. And I do long for home. It was just nice to be reminded.
Lord, come quickly...
I didn't show up in a Sgt. Pepper's coat. I didn't scream. I didn't drool or throw my bra on stage. I did enjoy myself. Paul's pretty amazing. And his band flat out rocked. All the tech stuff rocked. Way, way cool. I clapped some but mostly just sat and took it all in. I smiled at Pam looking like a bopper. I smiled at Kevin looking like he might cry at any moment. I smiled that Shawna was sitting next to him. I was glad to be there and at some point it began to sink in that being there actually was a pretty awesome thing and that as far as this life goes, times like these are sometimes hard to come by.
Most of the evening I felt more like an observer than a participant, but when we got to the na na's in Hey Jude, and the crowd started singing I opened my mouth and sang along. I wanted to sing with the legend that is Paul McCartney and it was a cool moment. Very cool. Cool enough in fact that he just claimed another fan :) I know I joked about having to listen to him all the way there but on the way home I was the one who wanted to give Flaming Pie another listen. Who knew? There are for sure a couple projects that only saw the light of day because of who he is, but there is some really nice work there that I hadn't really appreciated until now. (Perhaps I'll need to suffer through a Dylan concert after all...)
Kevin followed Flaming Pie with some of his lesser known recordings, some good, some not so good, some "what was he thinking?" and somewhere in there it began to rain. The clouds had been flirting with us all day but they decided to commit and commit they did. I finally turned off the CD player hoping to concentrate a little more on the pavement that had become nearly impossible to see. The skies looked heavy and dark and our wipers suck. There were people pulling over but we persevered especially since Shawna needed to be back for fuel tonight. There was a van off the road and I kept visualizing the Almighty's hands surrounding us, keeping us safe. Shawna asked if I'd play the song she was supposed to lead at fuel tonight so we popped it in. #4 on the Hillsongs United 'Look to You' CD. We listened to "All I Need Is You" singing along with the chorus, still a bit tense from the dealing with the elements. Pam commented that the sun was setting and she could see glimpses of it through the black sky. At the end of the song I skipped ahead to #11 "Til I See You" and it began:
"It" was something I will not be able to recreate for you here. But it was just way too amazing not to try. This song is one of those "change your life" kinds of songs, or at least if your blood is warm it should be. I wish you could hear it playing as you read this. The sky that had been dangerously black began to clear and the rain that had threatened to blind us began to soften. The sun that Pam had promised was setting behind the clouds began to reclaim the sky and for the next 20 minutes or so, we were kissed by our Creator and we kissed Him back.
I was driving 75 but it felt like we were in slow motion. I hate this. I can't write this well enough to describe it all. You know that scene in Contact when she wakes up on the beach? How beautiful it is? How serene, how "other" it is? Well, it felt like we were driving, or floating through a piece of heaven, like the van was gliding through Jell-O or something. And no, we weren't high from last night's event. She (sorry Ryan, but it was Darlene and it was gorgeous...) began to sing of the faithfulness of God, of His calm in the midst of a storm, I'm telling you, it was like a movie soundtrack. The colors of the sky, the expanse of the heavens, the sprinkles of rain, the nearness of the Father. I wanted to pull over and at the same time, there was something surreal about the movement of the van against the sky. I felt suspended in time. Words won't do it justice. We didn't speak. I know we were all just captivated by the beauty of the whole thing. The CD ends with none other than an extended arrangement of "Awesome God" and it carried us through the exit for home. Now this guy, this God of mine, I would throw myself on the stage for Him, and if eternity begins anything like this, I won't be screaming, I'll be smiling, face and hands up in the air taking it all in and speechless.
I had liked the song "Too Much Rain" on Paul's latest CD even before I heard it live, but I like it even more now. I'm sure it resonated with me because of losing dad and all, but after the storm tonight it has added significance. It was not lost on me that in the midst of the rain, when we can't see two feet in front of us, the hands that orchestrate the setting sun, whether we can see it or not, holds us, whether we know it or not. And honestly there are days that simply have too much rain, btdt more than once, but that sun tonight and the sky that surrounded it, not only escape my description, but deepen my appreciation for the rain. I have encountered His presence watching a lovely sunset at the end of a lovely day, but experiencing this one as it appeared at the end of a torrential downpour was a divine encounter with the One who speaks it into being.
A couple weeks ago my dad called me several times one evening in the midst of a little storm chasing. His last call that night was to tell me to look at the sky. A sky that from where he was located afforded him the view of a triple rainbow. I couldn't see it from my yard but I enjoyed it through his eyes. I'm electing to believe he saw the one tonight and that maybe, just maybe he isn't that far away. And Paul is indeed a legend in our time and his music moved me and entertained me, but it didn't change me and it didn't make me long for home. And I do long for home. It was just nice to be reminded.
Lord, come quickly...
posted by ret at 7:46 PM
2 Comments:
and when I read about you going to see them I got "Imagine" stuck in my head... urgh, and I'm not even from that era... Glad you had fun :)
Thanks for mentioning that song. I pulled the Hillsong back out and put it on #11. Very sweet song.
I love driving and seeing the beauty unfold. Some of my fave moments with God were in my old 234,000 mile Dodge Shadow. It was even good when the radio was broke... maybe better :)
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