Months ago, these lyrics slammed me like a two-by-four. That day, I had literally JUST written something similar in my blue tattered journal- along with many of the other lyrics found in this song. I was sitting in the front row of a Tenth Avenue North concert and Mike Donehey, their lead singer, had just changed his set to play this, a then-unreleased, song.The words had become my deepest heart's desire. Now "Worn" is played on radio and video channels everywhere, hourly, causing my heart to skip a beat every time I hear it... That night, and this morning, I am convinced that song was written for me.
***
He was a dirty thug. No, he was THE Dirty Thug. The harsh part of life had created in him the desire for evil. While most boys were avoiding their pre-algebra homework and trying to get the courage up to make eye-contact with the girl of their dreams- between video games, he was making connections for his next high.
He was smart, good looking, driven, and possessed an incredibly charming personality. He had absolutely every tool for success at his disposal.
Successful he was.
Although his career as a local criminal had taken off by the time he could legally vote, his potential for something greater, darker, had not yet been reached...
The ingredients assembled: Rejection, Pain, Steel bars, Fear, Death, Hatred, Pride and Talent led him to the stage. In the darkness of the lights he spewed his rhyming rage. He spoke to the broken hearted masses. They listened. They cheered.
Money, women, fame, loyalty, death.
The wake of destruction became a tsunami of despair. Death became the dream, this life had become a nightmare.
Then, the death of death! Redemption won! Jesus himself, pursued this evil and godless creation, meeting up with him and capturing him hours before he planned to enter through the gates of hell. He had purchased this wreck of a life with His own blood- the ultimate, as far as death stories go...
All this evil guy had to do was humbly accept this loving gift of life. He did.
He is new. All that was dead inside was reborn. His heart's desires instantly changed. The struggle, at least those in the darkest places, ended. He rhymes of life. He speaks of love. He models freedom and he spreads this hope...
I'm a sucker for a heart-warming, tear-jerker story. If I were watching his story on TV, reading it in the paper, attending one of his new concerts, hearing the lyrics of his new CD, or sitting in an audience- or his classroom- while he shared the details- of course I would be deeply moved. I would be warmed to the core of my heart and I would thank God for this extravagant example of LOVE. I would high five a few friends, tell a few clients and move on- all the while secretly hoping for God to show up in some sort of half-way amazing way in my life personally...
But, I'm not watching this story from the sidelines! I'm PART of this story and now, he is part of mine. THIS is the tattooed canvas that God is using to paint a glimpse of the extravagant LOVE He has for me. THIS is the answer to the raw mustard-seed-faith prayers I have poured into the pages of my tattered journals, wept into the grain of my wood floors and shouted into the silence of my favorite places...
I can hardly wait to tell you more.
