Through Redeemed Eyes - Entries tagged "Church"

Upon arrival in Georgia, Ohio was on regular rotation in our humble, two-bedroom apartment, especially during chance dinner parties with friends.  It’s one of those records that you can just let play, but certainly not because it is mere white noise.  Whenever we’ve played the music of OTR for people, there are nearly unanimous expressions of adulation, which is definitely awesome but also frustrating because most people have never heard of the band.  As Linford jokingly remarked once, “We talked about the fact that we [have] 21 new songs and not one damn hit.”  Most of this stems from the fact that these two artists have upheld a sedulous pursuit of uncompromising work, never willing to acquiesce to big-selling formulas.

Of any song on Ohio, song number four, “Jesus in New Orleans” immediately jumped out as my favorite.  The simple poetry of finding Jesus during chance encounters with strangers speaks so profoundly of simply being the church to someone wherever you are.  In a conversation with Peter, Jesus himself said something about where two or three are gathered together, there He is in the midst.

It is these simple statements of introspection, failure, and love that Over The Rhine so masterfully weave into their art.  Check out a lengthy review of Ohio here (insert hyperlink:  http://www.overtherhine.com/cd11_reviews.php ) as well as detailed reviews and notes on their other 20 records.

Greg Darling

Over The Rhine (courtesy of Greg Darling)

This past week has been a rough one.  My 5-year-old, Elijah, came down with the flu (“Influenza B Virus” to be exact), and our doctor sent us home with meds, and a note that said he could not return to school for the rest of the week.  During the days that followed, I learned two important things:

1) Influenza B Virus is only known to effect humans and seals, although, to my knowledge, it has not yet been named The Seal Flu.  Not sure why; it sounds like a catchy title to me.  Plus, seals are super cute, as opposed to pigs, who DO happen to have a virus named after them.

2) Elijah has no earthly idea how to play nicely by himself without my 1^st grader Andrew (who managed to escape the Seal Flu, and happily went to school by himself each day), and is exceptionally good at raising hell when left to his own devices.

Elijah was feeling almost 100% within about a day, thanks to a combination of about 3 different medications, so he was soon bored and restless, picking fights with the 3-year-old, playing “keep-away” with the 2-year-old, and completely throwing the normal, gentle rhythms of our day into an upset.  In the loooong hours of each school day that followed, I found my patience sorely tested, my creativity lacking, and overall felt like a complete failure at being a Nurturing Mommy, or even a Nice Person in general. 

As I practiced the song “You’ve Got The Love” for this week’s Quest, I started really focusing on the words:

    Sometimes it seems the going is just too rough

    And things go wrong no matter what I do

    No and then it seems like life is just too rough

    But you’ve got the love I need to see me through

As I continued to sing it and memorize the lyrics, I felt that the author of the song was speaking directly to me, to my situation right now.  The words are simple, but the message is clear and true: no matter how I am feeling, no matter if I have made a complete waste of what could have been a nourishing time, even if I have not cherished my children as I could have this week, if I have chosen a bad attitude and despair over contentment and peace – I can accept God’s love for me, and His love can give me the strength to carry on.  This experience can either be a regret and a black mark of failure, or it can be something to learn and grow from.  The choice is up to me.

Faith Darling