When my youngest daughter was an infant (she's 7 now), Betsy and I headed off to an old theater in Nashville to hear Andrew Peterson's "Christmas thing." I didn't realize what a life changing experience it would be. Was it a great concert? Sure. But the significance for me - and Betsy, too - was far deeper and continues to influence us and those upon whom we inflict ourselves.
It was my first encounter with Derek Webb, Sandra McCracken, Jill Phillips, Randall Goodgame, Andy Osenga and Andy Gullahorn. These are artists who since then have constantly encouraged me and challenged me with beautiful and intelligent songs. (If you pay attention to my Facebook status posts, you'll see that I quote Sandra often in particular.)
It was Andrew we came to hear, though. (Bonus that the above mentioned folks, plus Phil Keaggy and 2/3 of Nickel Creek, were joining him.) Andrew, you had me from "Gather 'round ye children, come..." - the next 40 minutes were all too brief, but they were filled with truth, beauty, drama, laughter, and life.
This past week, Betsy and I ventured up to Elmhurst and found ourselves blessed again. Some of the usual suspects were with Andrew - Jill, the Andys, Ben Shive. No Derek or Sandra, though. We joked that the part of Derek Webb was being played by Brandon Heath - but certainly don't mean to disparage him. His songs and performance were captivating, and we didn't miss Derek as much as I would have thought.
The first half of the show was "in the round." Betsy and I, after living in Nashville for a decade, are well-versed in this singer/songwriter showcase technique. Basically, they each take turns playing a song. The first round of songs was very good - kudos to Andy Gullahorn's humorous distillation of the Nashville country music formula called "Working Man." The next round was more breathtakingly poignant. Gullahorn's "Someone to You" was delicate and moving. Heath's "Not Who I Was" fit right in the same vein.
It was Ben Shive's second song, "Rise Up", that resonated with Betsy and I. It begins:
Every stone that makes you stumble
and cuts you when you fall
Every serpent here that strikes your heel
to curse you when you crawl
The King of Love one day will crush them all
We just read the Last Battle by C.S. Lewis to our girls, and the bridge of Shive's song struck us very profoundly:
And when the stars come crashing to the sea
and the high and mighty fall down on their knees
When you see the Son descending in the sky
the chains of death will fall around your feet
As soon as the song was over we turned to each other and said, "We have to buy that CD." That's why she's my Betsy.
The three Andys played a final song - one of Osenga's called "I'm On Your Side." There was musical magic as they each played acoustic guitar in a different tuning or capo postition and harmonized on the chorus. But it was the lyrics that got me - a testament to a friend who displays inctedible strength through trials and how it inspires one to find new levels of devotion.
Then came the intermission. Ten minutes later the whole crew came out and started playing "It Is Well With My Soul." After an a capella ending, Andrew read these words from the Jesus Storybook Bible:
"It's like an adventure story about a young Hero who came from a far country to win back his lost treasure. It's a love story about a brave Prince who leaves his palace, his throne, everything to rescue the one he loves. It's like the most wonderful of fairy tales that have come true in real life.You see, the best thing about this story is--it's true.It takes the whole Bible to tell this story. And at the center of the Story there is a baby. Every story in the Bible whispers his name. He is like the missing piece in a puzzle--the piece that makes all the other pieces fit together and suddenly you can see a beautiful picture.
And this is no ordinary baby. This is the Child upon whom everything would depend. This is the baby that would one day--but wait, our story starts where all good stories start. Right at the very beginning..."
(part 2 coming soon...)
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