DESCRIPTION:
This is something of an experiment, a little different from the last video that I made (Beauty). It's both a video for a poem that I wrote, and also a video interpretation for a song, by Jonathan Elias, from an album called The Prayer Cycle. Both my poem and the song are titled Grace. :)
I found the CD for The Prayer Cycle at a pawn shop awhile back, and it's an interesting gathering of spiritually-oriented music, including from artists such as Alanis Morissette and Linda Rondstadt, though all but one of them are sung in other languages. The only one that is sung in English is this one. But the first three minutes are instrumental, while the last two are a song, sung by James Taylor.
The song is based on an old well-known prayer which goes something like this: 'Dear God, please be good to me, for the sea is so wide and my boat is so small."
Because the song doesn't start until three minutes and twenty seconds into the music, I thought I'd include my poem, along with pictures, accompanied by the instrumental lead-in, as an opening until the song begins, and then when the song begins, I accompany it with pictures. :)
This is a beautiful song, simple but profound, and I hope the poem I included in it has something to say too. :)
Also, this song has deep meaning to me, not only because of its' universal message of a cry for help, for God's help, but also because last year I almost drowned out in the ocean, when swimming, along with four young friends, but all of us somehow made it to shore alive, finding the strength to make it back... and I thanked God for helping us, for saving us, when I stumbled onto shore, and then there was this voice inside of me that said "You're welcome, my son. I love you, and I love them too." That's a very personal experience, that science can't prove, some would say, but it was very real to me...and this song is a reminder of that time...
Grace is something that we can easily take for granted, or forget, but I think it's something that's meant to amaze us, and that we should try to remember... I struggle with this, but God is still gracious, even when I struggle. :o)
I hope that this song is an encouragement to you, as it is to me. :)
And may you also find your way to the shore, and watch the sunset from the safety of solid ground... :) - Matt W.