It's easy for an artist to dream of creating, and hard for him or her to find the discipline and space to do so. It's easy to enjoy the results of your artistic laboring from a piece of creative writing, a self-written song or a painting, but it's hard to go through what it takes in the secret places of your soul in order to produce such artwork. Whatever comes out of the heart has gone through the yet fragile but strong strings of tears and laughter, wild untamed and unapologetic emotional experiences, aching or bittersweet memories that make up a person's heart. Every time I write a song or a poem - especially a song or a poem that i write with the intention that no one but God will see (or with the intention that they shall be uncovered the day I die and my grandchild ransacks my dusty old attic boxes), it means so much more to me than things that are 'for the public'. Every time I sing with my heart - especially a song sung in an empty empty vacuum-emptied prayer room or when i'm hiding at home in front of my own little nest of a keyboard, it means so much more and i am able to pour out every single thing that is in my heart through that song. Sometimes, those 5 minutes are when I am most alive and when it feels like I am doing what I was made to do, one of the main reasons why I am breathing today.
Recently, my artsy friend and i met up and hung out for a morning in an empty prayer room in a random church. I love it when prayer rooms are empty and I get to enjoy the selfish privilege of soaking in His presence all to myself at odd hours of the day when others are busying about. When you meet up with one other friend in an empty prayer room, it is like having a 3-person date. So, my friend sang one of her favorite songs, "Moon River", in that vacuumy heavy Presence of her, me, and Him. I know that it's so easy for anyone to sing this song, it will take only 2 minutes. But then I know how much it takes for my friend to sing this song from the depths of her heart in the Presence because the heart-wrenchingly sweet lyrics somehow portray the journey that we are called to walk on. So, here it is.
Moon river, wider than a mile
I'm crossing you in style, someday
You dream maker, and heart breaker
Wherever you're going I'm going your way
Two drifters, off to see the world
There's such a lot of world to see
We're after the same rainbow's end
Waiting 'round the bend
My huckleberry friend
Moon river, and me...
