An Album on Repeat

   

   Do you ever hear a song that is so relevant to your current circumstances, which makes you think about how amazing God's timing is? Maybe it's a worship song that comes on many times on the radio during a stressful week, reminding you to praise him in the middle of the struggle. Maybe it's a song that you hear for the first time that uplifts you after hearing some discouraging news. This has happened to me many times, and it never ceases to amaze me. 

    Well, this time God used a whole album to encourage me! My brother, Luke, decided to experiment with Spotify's new feature of creating a playlist based on multiple friends' favorite songs. We ended up with a really interesting playlist... it is a little weird and random. But one of the songs I found from my mama's musical taste is called "Find You" by Jervis Campbell. "Teach Me to Dance" is a song that I have loved that is also by him, so I was intrigued to listen to this one. The first lines of the songs say, "I don't know what tomorrow holds. Still, I will remain here in Your presence" I loved this. So, I kept listening through the album that the song is from. 

    Song after song, I found that this album is about returning to the joy and love of Jesus. The album begins with "Eden," longing for the Lord's presence as it was in the garden of Eden. "Friend" has a repetitive phrase, "you call me friend", which is followed by the awe that we are his, because we don't deserve this sacred relationship. The song, "All I'm After" captures the desire that I want to have again. 

    It seems like much longer than two years ago that I had months in quarantine to sit on my bedroom floor to worship the Lord. It was a quiet stillness that brought forth joy in my heart. A contentment of being in God's presence. That contentment seeped into Senior year of my undergraduate studies and the summer after. Then, new beginnings came like a rushing wind. I began graduate school and a new relationship. Graduate school has been harder than I imagined and at the same time, this relationship has been exciting and real. Real in a way that is unexpected and crazy. Crazy in the most beautiful way

    Looking back, I realize that I took my eyes off of Jesus in the chaos. I got lost in my own thoughts and worries. I want to go back to finding rest in the Father, leading me to say, just as the song says in the chorus, "God, your heart is all I'm after." I went on a walk to simply pray this morning, and this was my main prayer: that I would come back to chasing after knowing more of who my God is. 

    Discovering this album has reminded me of God’s timing and power. It’s also given me hope that I’ll find rest this summer before teaching and taking classes again. 

    Do you have a current favorite album that you can't stop listening to? I'd love to know what it is! Let me know in the comments. ( : 

 ~Kthnxbai!