The thing I love about driving through the west is that the terrain is so varied. One minute you’re driving through rolling hills that just have grass and the next thing you know, those hills have turned into mountains with very little foliage, but, rather, they’re made up of large boulders and rock. By the time you’re getting sick of climbing and winding through the mountains, the land flattens out and you’re out in the middle of the desert. I grew up in Northern Indiana, which has to be one of the flattest, most boring landscapes in all of the United States. Don’t get me wrong, I love it there, but when I’m driving through Colorado, California, and Arizona I wonder how I grew up only knowing corn fields and Dutch apple pie (Note: Dutch apple pie is better than your apple pie, just sayin’). It reminds me that I’m extremely lucky to see God’s creation every day. I mean, some of the sights we’ve seen look like they’re straight out of a painting. They almost don’t even seem real. I’m inclined to think that God had a pretty good idea of what He was doing when He created this earth. I can only hope that I take it all in, and not take it for granted.
I don’t think I can write this blog without sharing an experience that we had this last week out on the tour. Being that we are a new band, our fan interactions are somewhat limited. We’ve been extremely blessed by the outpouring of support for our band and our ministry by the fans attending the shows here on the Air1 Appreciation tour. One thing that many folks don’t realize, is how much they bless the bands by their actions and their words of encouragement.
One such example happened this last week. After our show, as we were at our merch table signing autographs, a woman pulled me aside. She told me about how her 20 year old son had died this last year, that our music was now an inspiration to her as she continues to struggle through the loss of her son. I was completely speechless. I stood there for a second, and just asked her if I could give her a hug and she proceeded to give me one of the biggest hugs I’ve ever received. I told her I was sorry for her loss and that she has blessed us more than she knows by letting us know that God was using our music in her life. She was so happy to share it all with us and she walked away with a giant smile on her face. Just as she was leaving our table, a gentlemen that witnessed the whole thing said, “Is that why you guys do this?” My immediate response was, “That’s exactly why we do this.”
It was a humbling experience to know that God is using our ministry. I know that I sometimes doubt my ability to make a difference, but I remember that throughout the bible God used lots of people that didn’t seem worthy. Every day people, even criminals. He used Paul, someone who made his living persecuting Christians. In spite of that, God revealed Himself to Paul and Paul was transformed. He then became one of the key authors of the New Testament. Just as He used Paul, He can use all of us…even though we might believe that we aren’t gifted enough, or smart enough, or that we are too much of a sinner. God desires to put us in position to show people that He loves us. God is good. It’s such an amazing thought to know that an all powerful omnipotent God would still desire to use imperfect people to carry out His will. Amazing.
David