Lessons from a Concert

This is my day 2 entry for my “Write 31 Days Challenge”. (I started late since I had been working on technical issues for the first couple). I decided the only theme I would follow for the month was whatever is currently happening, either in my life (or devotional time), with someone close or in the news but I definitely want it to be fresh. I used to love when we would do Current Events writing in class as a child. I remember how all of the other kids used to moan and whine but I enjoyed it. I know, crazy.

Anyway, we were blessed by friends (thanks Karan!) with tickets to see the band, “For King & Country” last night. Their 2nd stop on their new concert tour, “Burn the Ships” was here in NYC. It was pretty phenomenal. Their light show and performance was one of the best I’ve seen. I had always liked their music but the concert made me a true fan. What I got though from the concert, goes far beyond what musical entertainment can give. Here are 2 of my take-aways.

First, every song seemed to be just what I needed to hear for this season or moment in my life. Titles like, “Fix My Eyes”, “The Proof of Your Love”, “It’s Not Over Yet” and “God Only Knows” were some of the song’s lyrics that really spoke to my soul. But when they sang the finale, “Joy”, is when I realized, God really does know exactly what you need, when you need it. I think it will be my theme song this year because~ I Choose Joy. It’s well-worth the watch:

Second, there was a moment when Luke, one of the brothers that sings lead, spoke. He explained how the song he was about to sing, “I Need You More” came to be written. It centers around the emergency where they almost lost their 2-month-old son last year. In an Instagram post, Luke’s wife, Courtney says she was prompted by the Holy Spirit to check on Leo while he was sleeping. When she did he was not breathing and looked "gray and lifeless." She explains how she carried his little body out to Luke. He called 9-1-1 but while waiting for the ambulance, they performed CPR and prayed and little Leo began to breathe again. A true miracle. Read her story here: https://www.instagram.com/p/Bnw_EHFH0Wr/?taken-by=courtneysmallbone_

It was discovered that Leo would need skull surgery (which was totally unrelated to the episode) at a later date. Luke spoke about how on the drive to the hospital, all he could do to express his fear and concern was by singing. “I Need You More” was written using those melodies, words and actual sounds from the car in the recording. (Song drops tonight at midnight.) You can see Luke with Leo today, healthy and happy here: https://www.instagram.com/p/BZL8zZygWAM/?utm_source=ig_embed

I love to hear stories like this because at the moment they are happening, you can’t possibly know the outcome. What’s the ending of this story? I’ll reiterate what I said before because it holds true for Luke and Courtney, for myself and all of you: God knows exactly what you need when you need it. It may not be what you thought or even hoped for, but he’s not forgetful and he’s never late.