Michael W. Smith released a CD in 1993 titled “Go West Young Man”. My memories of the songs stem from listening to it while in the boat on Lake Superior enjoying a summer of swimming and floating on the boat. The songs were fitting, especially the section of the song “For You” that goes like this:
Sittin’ in the rain
Water on your brain
Got a hole in your boat
Trying to stay afloat
Has got you downI’ve got a wind in my sail
Rubber boots and a pail
I’ll throw you a line
Rest assured that I
Won’t ever let you drown..
This summer during one of my trips to the beach the memories of this CD came back to mind and I started listening to it again. 17 Years was a long time ago, I’m a little bit older, a little bit wiser, and the world is a strangely different place.
While singing “Seed to Sow” to myself I was struck with one of those “Oh, I get it moments!” as I realized what the lyrics really meant:
Some people quietly reveal
In the manner of the meek
Some people shout the way they feel
To a radical degree
Some people sing it to express
While others hear another call
Some people speak with subtleness
And* don’t rely on words at allWe all are pieces of the whole
With different feelings to evoke
Giving distinction to the role
Different players-different strokesSome people walk
Some people race
Some people vary in their pace
But God can use what you can give
Within the mystery of His ways
Emphasis added to the stanza that finally sunk in. There is nothing more I can possibly say to complete the thought except that my hope is to speak with subtleness and don’t rely on words.
*According to the disc lyrics “And” is actually “Some”. However, when I listen to the song for myself it sure sounds like “And” to me.