"Would you be a part of the healing tide?"

"What if I told you a willing heart and soul is what you need?

What if I showed you how to make a good out of somethin' wrong?"

-The War and Treaty

Breathe with me for a minute.

No, humor me, close your eyes.

Listen to your lungs fill up with air,

focus on the cadence as you breathe back out.

Do this until you pay attention, or feel gratitude the choice is yours.

Sometimes when I get up too quickly my vision blurs.

Vertigo - maybe, or just an impatience of my mind for gravity. 

In the blows of evil I feel this.

I know you feel the pains. I know you feel the loss of humanity. I know you feel the division. I know you're deafened by the noise. I know you're tired of headlines. I know you're sick from the amount of times a day you feel grief. 

I lift my head from reading, and I see spots of yellow and black.

I close my eyes to push out the imbalance.

I do not want to keep my eyes open.

I have an impatience in my mind to feel this gravity.

The swirling pushes me into a seated position.

The swaying and lack of clarity forces my head to the dirt.

There is no balance, but at least on the floor you can't fall. 

That's where I'd stay.

...

But do you remember those breaths you took before?

I took them, too.

And somewhere miles away, so did countless others.

Each of those pauses between inhale and exhale -

that sweet selah,

it is not defeat.

No, it is a gentle pause to lay down gently the inhale, 

and like armor the exhale gathers itself to it's feet and pushes out in victory to meet whatever awaits. 

Do not give up in the selah,

do not stay there.

Rest, please feel safety to rest.

But grab up your armor for we are filled to overflow.

...

Overflow, we will.

...

I was blessed to go to Moon River Festival this weekend.

I have not sweat like that in a while, nor been soggy from rain so long, but for some this is everyday. So even in our discomfort we learn perspective.

I listened to dozens of songs.

I stood for hours.

I had arguably one of the world's best popsicles. 

But really, I overflowed.

....

Drew Holcomb and his sweet band of friends played us songs,

but they did more than that.

They invited us in, insisted we be family.

In fact in many ways we are kin.

They pushed us into dancing and let us have a moment to have a moment.

They asked us in.

We were so welcome.

I had the kind fortune to hear The War and Treaty. 

They sang only about four songs, but they only needed one.

I have no descriptive words for you, only think of absolute radiance and you're halfway there.   

Michael and Tanya Trotter, the beautiful duo that are The War and Treaty,

reminded me of a Truth I'd let be bury deep within:

Along with the Healer, there is a Healing Tide.

We all can be part of the healing tide.

Getting ready for this festival, I, like you heard we lost Mac Miller. 

I only know two of his songs.

I don't know much about him.

But I do know he was significant. 

I do know the 293 lives lost to overdose this year in my county were significant.

I do know the almost 3,000 lives lost in 9/11 mattered.

I do know the quiet deaths that escape the headlines, or lack the politics, or happened in prisons, any of the losses we forget or put away - these lives that were lost were sacred.

...

Because as good neighbor reminds us our importance does not come from us doing something significant - we are to be loved despite. 

Our neighbors, the person we don't want to forgive, the person we can't understand, the person we won't hear out, our enemies, the difficult, the tiring, the broken, they matter. 

They have a soul!

They are your kind, humankind.

Have you been kind to them?

Have I been kind to them?

Have I been kind to you?

They are sacred.

...

This is all a gumbo of hope.

It's a lot of thoughts.

But again the Lord used music to remind me of His good fight.

Evil will push me down like vertigo my whole life,

Sweet one, I'll be blinking my whole life.

But my feet know the way.

The music plays through the wars and unrest,

by faith, not sight is the test.

But I will be part of the healing tide.

I will swell with grief, and be overcome by the eye of the storm.

But I will fall again on the shore to kiss the ground with gentle water.

I will be part of the healing tide.

You're a wave, too, aren't, you?
...

"And I'll rise up
I'll rise like the day
I'll rise up
I'll rise unafraid
I'll rise up
And I'll do it a thousand times again
And I'll rise up
High like the waves"

-Andra Day