Do you guys ever listen to Enter the Worship Circle? Maybe not. It's a group of worship leaders/ musicians who sort of sit around with guitars and microphones and put whatever comes out onto a CD. At least that's the way they started. Their most recent album has a gospel/blues feel that I love (I love harmonies), and one song I listen to over and again. It begins with this line:
Trouble won't go
Peace won't stay
Oceans roar
Levees break.
The last line - levies break - disturbs me. It's had me thinking lately about how generations are bonded by specific events. "Levees break" would have meant nothing to me in 2004. But in the same way talk of fires or illness must have unnerved past generations, floods will always affect ours.
(As an aside, whenever we listen to it, Asher says, "Peace stay!" There are prayers and then there are prayers, you know? Every time he says it, I say, "Lord, may it be so.")
So I've been thinking about what our generation has seen. The first Gulf War, covered in real time by CNN. My mom used to fall asleep at night watching those green bombs against the black sky, over and over. Rodney King and OJ. A President impeached, and a reply I will never forget - "It depends on what your definition of 'is' is." September 11. The war in Iraq, the statue of Saddam Hussein dismantled. Katrina. The housing boom and crash. And now, this: the inauguration of Barack Obama.
Others are saying it more eloquently than me, so I will only add this: for all of the destruction that binds our generation together, I am thankful to share this moment, too. I'm thankful to be inspired by our leadership again, to see Dr. King's dream realized, to have hope for our country's future. For all of the wrong that we've witnessed together, I'm thankful to witness something right today.
And I know that some of you disagree with me. That, especially in my corner of the world, I really am a little blue dot in a very red state. But today, either way, is a fresh start. It's a new set of eyes on very real problems. It's a day our grandparents never imagined. Remember what you're doing today, pay attention to the speech at least a little, because someday your kids and grandkids will read about it, and may ask you to tell the story. Today matters for all of us, regardless of politics. May peace stay with you on Inauguration Day.
5 comments:
today is for my kids
I so wish my Dad had been alive to see this happen today ...
What a moment
I use to LOVE enter the worship circle. I discovered them around the time I was just learning guitar and the stuff was really easy to play.
I haven't heard them in years.
I was neither for or against Obama, and I do so wish MLK could have seen this. It excites me.
I only caught a bit of the speech and one thing threw me. Obama was talking about doing good for other people, not out of charity, but b/c we know it will benefit us in the future. Isn't that backwards? Shouldn't we do good out of love for our neighbor with no thought whatsoever to what benefit it may or may not hold for us in the future?
Perhaps this is why politics confuses me so much.
Asher's prayer made me all teary eyed.
You know how I feel about the change that is coming...excited and hopeful. I was very,very moved by the days events, and proud to be able to witness history.
Yes, we can.
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