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Overwhelming Ideas

I'm diligently (at least for me) working on my current short story about the messiness of life. My muse for this story is a Rich Mullins tribute album, and so far, the story is taking the form of three songs from that album. Jacob and 2 Women, Calling Out Your Name, and If I Stand. (Perhaps I'll divulge their inspiration later.)

These songs are stuck in my head, and as I've been singing them today, pieces of the story appear alongside them. I pulled out my old trusty CD player and CD (the iPod seemed inappropriate for this task), thinking that listening to them would be a stronger experience. Sure enough. It's so exciting to see the ideas finally piecing themselves together.

As I listened to "Calling Out Your Name," I just burst into tears at the line, How the Lord takes by its corners this old world and shakes us forward and shakes us free to run wild with the hope. In that moment, just as sure as I was sitting in my livingroom, I was filled with an overwhelming sense of hope...hope in the middle of pain...hope in the middle of the messiness...hope in the middle of the loss. It's there. And there was even a twinge of love thrown in, a spark that's been missing from my soul for a while now.

I'm grateful and humbled to have had that opportunity.

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