The Concert and a Dying King

Song of the Week: Gardens by Ivan Theva (2023)

Book of the Week: When Prayer Becomes Real, by Kyle Strobel and John Coe (2021)

One of my best friends Scott played a concert on Sunday evening. It was a crunch getting there - I had small groups with students up until 7:30, the concert was supposed to start at 8pm so I felt okay until around 7:40 when I got the fated text: “I’m going on in 5 minutes”. Had to boogie! I had a moment during the concert: I was really enjoying the music, it was kind of moody, lighting was dim, I was with a group of some of my closest friends, I’m an emotional guy who spends a lot of time up in my head and I thought: man I don’t want this moment to end, but at some point it will. That made me think – what do I want to do with this moment?

I got to teach about this with students on Wednesday. We wrapped up our series on David by talking about some of his last words in 1 Chronicles 28. We pointed out that David admitted his flaws, acknowledged that God was his source, and advised his son, Solomon, on what he needed to do as king and we came to the conclusion that these were some of the most important things to David. You figure, you know an ending is coming, and you think “what do I want to say with this small amount of time I have left?” Whether it’s in life, in a situation, in a relationship that is about to change, etc. I ended our time by encouraging students to take time and think about what is most important to them - what do they want to do or say before high school ends, before the season is over, before they move away from home for college, and so on, so I figure I’ll tell you some stuff that’s important to me, hopefully inspiring you to do the same.

What is important to me?

Faith. Man, how complicated is this one! That’s like my lungs speaking up and saying they appreciate oxygen. Thanks fellas! (Evidently my lungs are male. Or are they female? They/them?) Anyway, saying faith is important to me is more than an understatement, I really don’t know any other way. I’ve been following the Lord for over 20 years now and as you can imagine, my understanding of God has changed drastically. That’s the journey though - you learn as you walk. He doesn’t change, but everything about and around you does. It’s weird to be in a season of life when you actually start to understand the old church sayings or common bible verses you used to hear as a kid, or at least they become more robust. I would have said I trusted God when I was 10 years old, but I really didn’t know what that meant until his promises are all I had to hold on to. I didn’t understand God’s character until I rowed through a storm where I felt abandoned and on the verge of drowning, only to look back to see his faithfulness in my wake. I could say more, and I will, this is kind of the point of this site is to write about this stuff, but if it’s okay with you, I’d like to move on.

Family. Used to think this was a “duh” thing but I’ve learned that having a good relationship with my family is not boring at all. We usually appreciate things for one of a couple of reasons: they’re taken from us, they’re taken from others (and we see the loss effect), or we didn’t have them to begin with, and now we do. In some ways, I resonate with all three. I’ve lost some family members - all of my grandparents had passed away by the time I was 22, one I didn’t know, two in quick succession, and one I was in the house for. I felt the pain, but with it comes an urge to make the most of who’s still around. I’ve also seen friends lose parents, siblings, spouses, kids, best friends, etc. You name it. Also seen relationships lost, estranged, etc. Makes me grateful. I’ve also been blessed to have people in my life who aren’t family but feel like it - friends along the way that feel more like brothers than anything. I never take those for granted.

Truth. Curveball! Thought we weren’t gonna get conceptual? And no third F?? I’ve grown in my passion for truth over the years and this really stems into many areas of life, and has come from a variety of different experiences. I’ve learned that life’s too short to spend time in waters muddied by lies or vague platitudes. Put that on a shirt.

There are many more, but I’ll end by saying at that concert on Sunday, here’s what I decided was most important and did before I left. One of my friends that came with me was a huge fan of one of the artists there that I’d gotten to know, I made sure they met. I also went to my friend that played and told him he did amazing because I love my friends, and I’m grateful for them. I closed my eyes and enjoyed the music, because I love art and creativity, and I’m thankful for them.

The Lord gives and takes, thankful for both.

In love,

Josh