Well, we made some music. The babe who was in belly when we first began recording might have just turned two, but we finished it. And we are pleased.
The words to "Come Be You" were written about four years ago. I was newly married and adjusting to a cross-country move to the other side of Australia. Six months earlier we had lost a baby early in the pregnancy, a baby who had been made during our honeymoon celebrations. I was still wading around waist-deep in the muck of grief and confusion when I became pregnant again; he is now a wild and wonderful 3 1/2 year old. That evening when I wrote out the words in a notebook I didn't know what would happen in that pregnancy, I didn't know what the first years of our marriage would bring. I didn't know how to honour the pain and loss that I felt deeply while at the same time carry the joy and expectancy of a new baby on the way.
All I could pray as my emotions ebbed and flowed was, "God, come be You."
come be You in my weakness
come be You in my grief
come be You in my celebrations
come be You when I bleed
come be You in my weakness
come be You in my grief
come be You in my celebrations
come be You in my expectancy
Carrying joy and pain together is so much of what it means to be human and to be interconnected with one another. Whether it's within our families, neighbourhoods or communities, often we experience the depths and heights that are possible, right alongside each other. We lose our job while someone we love is being promoted; we give birth to a healthy child while our dear friend suffers through another pregnancy loss; we watch our friends get married while we are single and wanting a life partner, or living in the wake of divorce. Life is painful and so beautiful and often it's in the same day, in the same body, we carry those things in our hearts all mixed up together. Part of growing our capacity to grieve and celebrate together is allowing God to first come and be God in all of the complexity - and we don't yet know what that means.
My very talented husband helped with the music and we started to share it in our community. In 2011 we began recording it and finally, FINALLY (after a long hiatus), finished it a couple of weeks ago.
Please have a listen and feel free to share it if you like, especially if you have someone in mind who you think might be encouraged by this song. If you want to download it from our bandcamp site, we're making it 'pay what you want.' (www.statesandprovinces.bandcamp.com)
Enjoy.
The words to "Come Be You" were written about four years ago. I was newly married and adjusting to a cross-country move to the other side of Australia. Six months earlier we had lost a baby early in the pregnancy, a baby who had been made during our honeymoon celebrations. I was still wading around waist-deep in the muck of grief and confusion when I became pregnant again; he is now a wild and wonderful 3 1/2 year old. That evening when I wrote out the words in a notebook I didn't know what would happen in that pregnancy, I didn't know what the first years of our marriage would bring. I didn't know how to honour the pain and loss that I felt deeply while at the same time carry the joy and expectancy of a new baby on the way.
All I could pray as my emotions ebbed and flowed was, "God, come be You."
come be You in my weakness
come be You in my grief
come be You in my celebrations
come be You when I bleed
come be You in my weakness
come be You in my grief
come be You in my celebrations
come be You in my expectancy
Carrying joy and pain together is so much of what it means to be human and to be interconnected with one another. Whether it's within our families, neighbourhoods or communities, often we experience the depths and heights that are possible, right alongside each other. We lose our job while someone we love is being promoted; we give birth to a healthy child while our dear friend suffers through another pregnancy loss; we watch our friends get married while we are single and wanting a life partner, or living in the wake of divorce. Life is painful and so beautiful and often it's in the same day, in the same body, we carry those things in our hearts all mixed up together. Part of growing our capacity to grieve and celebrate together is allowing God to first come and be God in all of the complexity - and we don't yet know what that means.
My very talented husband helped with the music and we started to share it in our community. In 2011 we began recording it and finally, FINALLY (after a long hiatus), finished it a couple of weeks ago.
Please have a listen and feel free to share it if you like, especially if you have someone in mind who you think might be encouraged by this song. If you want to download it from our bandcamp site, we're making it 'pay what you want.' (www.statesandprovinces.bandcamp.com)
Enjoy.
On a side note, Chris, myself and two very talented friends (Spiro on percussion and Zack playing harmonica) were invited to play some music recently at an event. We played for about thirty minutes, doing a few originals and a few covers (we did a version of 'My Girls' by Animal Collective, 'Closer to Fine' by Indigo Girls, my fave was Patty Griffin's 'Forgiveness' and my husband is obsessed with Neil Young's 'Harvest Moon'.) It was really fun - thanks to all our friends who came out! When Chris and I started dating we dreamed of writing, performing and recording music together. Baby-making has usurped our music making over the past few years but hopefully this is the start of something new.
Thanks Mat for the snaps!
