remedy

Those who believe that the Christian life is easy are delusional.

This morning, I grabbed a CD that our church worship band recorded a few years ago. Listening to it on the commute took me back to point in time where this particular group of musicians, including me, was together.

Josh, our leader--a larger-than-life, red-headed giant. Guitarist and vocalist extraordinaire, competitive athlete. The first hit came when his three-month old daughter died in a home accident. He and his wife had barely recovered (?) from that when he had a swimming accident in Mexico. Josh is still larger-than-life, but is now a quadriplegic. He no longer has the breath to sing; the feel of a guitar is a memory.

Bill, our drummer. Always wafting the smell of cigarettes, occasionally bringing me a box of snack cakes from his delivery job. If it hadn't been for the AED and a store employee who knew how to use it, Bill would be dead. He had a more than massive heart attack and was resuscitated multiple times. The oxygen deprivation caused short-term memory problems; the damage left him with 20% heart function. The drumsticks are set aside.

Chuck, our lead electric guitarist and Bill's brother. The man was amazing, from Jimi Hendrix to the blues to Sixties' riffs--he could do it all. For him, the difficulties came with financial woes, loss of business, foreclosure on the duplex that he and his wife shared with Bill.

Only Mark, our bass player, and I have remained unscathed thus far. And I wouldn't say I've led an unscathed life by any means--I've had my share of sorrow, and I will have it again. Jesus says so.

So while I felt sad at the losses experienced by this group, the music and the memories reminded me how thankful I am that we are not alone in this journey.

Check out the link to The Remedy (Jason Mraz): http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5mg_ZMU8RF0