Bring Me Back: Part 2

A couple of months ago I wrote about how C. S. Lewis and his writings helped me understand more about God, and helped bring me back to Christianity after I'd felt like giving up. This week I've been thinking a lot about music, and how it's also done this for me in many ways.

There are a couple of bands I've been listening to lately that don't classify themselves as Christian in the genre sense of the word even though they deal with Christian themes, and that, to me, is totally understandable considering my personal opinion that 90% of Christian rock is pretty terrible. I'll admit to having a soft spot for early Dashboard Confessional, and I own some Reliant K and Switchfoot, but generally I steer clear. It's just not my cup of tea.

But when I find artists who express truth in their lyrics, regardless of their religious affiliation, I'm drawn to them. Last summer I finally jumped on the Mumford and Sons bandwagon, and I haven't looked back. Their album "Sigh No More," is filled with some of the most complex ideas and universal feelings I think I've ever heard, but the melodies are catchy and so full of energy, I've used it as one of my major playlists while running!

Anyway, I started listening to this band over the summer, and when I began seriously thinking about attending Luther and went to go visit in October, their songs helped me ground myself and think with my heart.
Let me just hit you up with a couple of examples:

"Love; it will not betray you
Dismay or enslave you, it will set you free
Be more like the man you were made to be.
There is a design, an alignment, a cry
Of my heart to see
The beauty of love as it was made to be"
-Sigh No More

"It seems that all my bridges have been burnt
But you say that's exactly how this grace thing works
It's not the long walk home that will change this heart
But the welcome I receive with the restart"
-Roll Away Your Stone

Over the last few months I've started listening to them whenever I need to be reminded that I'm here to be God's love in the world. They center me and bring me out of my flights of fancy and obsession that I tend to get stuck in.
This lyric, especially, has been floating around and making me feel braver:

"I know my call despite my faults
And despite my growing fears..."
-The Cave