I am sitting here enjoying the roll of thunder across the early morning Pennsylvania skies. The lightning flashes randomly and the rain falls steadily. I love the sounds and smells and sights of a thunderstorm. For the most part, thunderstorms are comforting to me, unless they are accompanied by the high winds and threats of tornadoes. I dream about tornadoes all the time and I hope I never actually experience the real thing. The hurricane season is in full throttle and as I watch the storms on the radar approach the U.S., I wonder why God allows such things to exist? Why are there such scary, devastating realities in such a beautiful, beautiful creation? I suppose it is because it is a fallen creation, and so we must coincide with the evils of life. Just like we coincide with the sin in our lives. I have hurricanes inside of me. I have tornadoes. I used to like the song about I am shadow, I am light - these are the lyrics, by Paula Carpenter:
Inside this heart there is a crowd
One is humble, another proud
One who stands on solid ground
And one whose faith is falling down
One is made of sugar and spice
Anothers virtue bows device
Ogres and angels share my heart
Sometimes the battle tears me apart
Chorus
I am shadow, I am light
I am wrong and I am right
Sometimes shining oh so bright
Sometimes fading into night
Though You see this war in me
You know all that I can be
I am precious in Your sight
You walk with me through shadow and light
I am wise, I am a fool
A servant with a yen to rule
Good intentions and selfish schemes
A saint who soars on broken wings
Noble visions and narrow eyes
Contradictions side by side
Ogres and angels share my heart
Sometimes the battle tears me apart
There is a war that rages inside of me
(Yeah, yeah, yeah)
Only You can save me from myself
So, even as I finish this blog entry, the thunderstorm is passing. The rumbles are not as near, the rain is more gentle, and the lightning less intense. Soon the blue sky will return and the sunshine will prevail. I want to appreciate the thunderstorms as I appreciate the days when all is calm and bright. This is the reality of life and I really want to be able to embrace all of it - the shadow and the light, the wrong and the right - the thunderstorms and the sunshine.
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1 comment:
Hi there...
Enjoyed your post. The only thing is, Bruce Carroll didn't write those lyrics for his project ONE SUMMER EVENING LIVE. I am Paula Carpenter (see more about me at www.starbrightmusic.com) and wrote those lyrics when I was an exclusive songwriter for EMI-CMG (then Sparrow) and the inspiration came from a wonderful book called SHAME & GRACE by Lewis Smedes.
Bruce loved and recorded that song, and I believe it may have been the only one on that project that he did *not* write on.
It's very common for people to associate songs with the artist who recorded them...but they do indeed come *straight from the hearts* of songwriters. In this case...mine.
Blessings,
Paula
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