The Way The World Turns

Let's just start this one off big... so Dominique and I are happy to announce that we are expecting a little sibling for Josiah in August. Crazy right? Yeah, so we're unbelievably blessed and can't wait to see if it's going to be a little sister or a little punching bag for Josiah. So that's pretty big news. So big in fact that we decided to finally build a room in our basement for the little guys. Dominique's dad is a builder extraordinaire and has already started building out the downstairs into a playroom/place where dad can crank the stereo a bit ;) The news is bigger yet, so much that when I found out before Christmas I decided the perfect gift for Dominique would be a vacation. She's been pretty much tied down to the house since Josiah was born and hasn't been able to travel hardly anywhere with me. I found a cheap cruise to Mexico, snatched it up an booked the flights. We left last week and had a great time despite some unusually cold temperatures. It was nice being able to fly without a laptop, guitar, pedalboard or drummer. Ok - that last part I exaggerated. But it was a great time to relax and try to recharge. I had been helping my father in law demolish our basement the week prior. Tore out everything - including the basement sink. He had the walls framed and the concrete floor broken into in only 4 days before we left and continued to work while we were gone.

So that's what the past few weeks were like. Things were great, the new record is finished and the year is off to a good start.

I give a little bit of the weeks history to help explain why I was in the Caribbean on Tuesday when the earthquake hit Haiti. As if living on a cruise ship out in the middle of the ocean in a perfectly miniature sized room isn't surreal enough - I happened to turn the tv on to see the sobering news of devastation that was simultaneously occurring in a world not so far away. Being away from home and family had me already feeling disconnected. We left Josiah at home and were definitely missing him. I just couldn't sleep that night at all. Just thinking about how so many in Haiti, already living without the basic daily essentials I had at arms length in this vacation la la land we were living in, were missing their loved ones as well because of a deadly earthquake. Not much makes sense in a situation like this. Here I am safe and sound - able to make phone calls and eat a freaking cheese burger at 1am on the ocean while people in Haiti had lost everything. I guess I prayed my way to sleep that night... praying for those in need and asking God 'why?'

There's just so many questions I don't know I'll ever have answers to. I've had heartache in my life for sure and I think I'm learning more and more that there will always be a plentiful supply of it.

So where does it lead me? The only place I can really go... that is if I choose to, and that's to God's mercy. If I can somehow be grateful for what I have - and I don't mean a flat panel tv or a cool cellphone but things that really matter - and at the same time mourn for those who have lost then I guess that's what I am left to do. All of this in hope to somehow feel human.

I've read through a bit of Ecclesiastes tonight since I'm still not much for sleep and I can't say I have any explanation still for how to keep things mentally tidy while these things happen, but maybe a bit more understanding of how things play out...

Ecclesiastes 3 verse 10-11
I have seen the burden God has placed on us all. Yet God has made everything beautiful for its own time. He has planted eternity in the human heart, but even so, people cannot see the whole scope of God’s work from beginning to end.

I know there's at least some truth in that I don't know the beginning or the end in the sense of tomorrow say, but I do believe I know the 'end' that is made possible through God's grace. Salvation is what I have through Christ and I guess in these times it's what I should be focusing and sharing more of. I suppose we relay this hope through our music - and I'm excited for you all to hear new songs in just over a month - but I think I finally have my new year's resolution... To whole-heartedly try to live in a God fearing way - so much so that I'm completely reliant every day on his Grace.

And that's that for tonight. God please bless Haiti.