The Song I'm Singing Today

Music has the power to bring words to moments where words are hard to come by. A well-written lyric and a soaring melody can work to make sense of the wholly sublime as much as it can create a self-paced guide through the deepest gulfs of grief. I'm convinced that the global songbook has something for every human emotion.

Maybe that's why so many of us seem naturally equipped with the ability to weave music into the passage of time. When we identify "just the right song" it can help to transport us back to another moment, or else to celebrate how far we've come from a given moment.

In that light, folks will often turn to specific songs to mark anniversaries -- be it "Happy Birthday" to celebrate a birth anniversary, the sappy love song they danced to at their wedding to celebrate a wedding anniversary, or a loved one's favorite song on the anniversary of their death.

Music speaks. Music celebrates. Music heals.

Today, October 3, marks the last of a series of difficult anniversaries in my personal late-summer, early-fall rhythm. At times, they've become much more than a number on a calendar page. The passage of time has both haunted and healed. While I think it's appropriate to spend most of my time looking ahead as opposed to staring in the rearview mirror, I do think that the lifelong process of finding wholeness can be furthered by remembering our journey. And were I to look back at where I've come, the truth is I could only marvel at the strength, the courage, and resilience I've been able to tap into, by God's many graces.

I know it risks being what the cool kids call a "sub-tweet," but I thought I'd share the song I've chosen to mark October 3, at least for now.  (And yes, I've been learning it on the piano, too).

The song and accompanying music video are, in all honesty, way more haunting when sung by Kesha herself (feel free to watch it if you need to be in touch with the sort of raw emotion that might leave you sleepless at night). Still, I've chosen the Brian Justin Crum cover of the song for the ways his story more closely resembles my own.