Gilland: Trying to hold on

Fawn deer in wilderness
Shutterstock

Several years back (and while living in Gainesville), my wife and I joined another couple for a concert by Steven Curtis Chapman that was held in Ocala. He has always been one of my favorite musicians, so I couldn’t have been more excited.

There were a couple of other artists that opened that night for Steven, and one was a big surprise to me. His name was Andrew Peterson, and he had grown up in nearby Lake Butler.

Since that night, and as I learned more about him, I have discovered that Andrew’s writing style is rather unique, and his use of language and themes produces songs with an imagery that is just delightful. I purchased one of his new albums, but it wasn’t until two months ago that I learned the backstory to this collection of songs.

Become A Member

Mainstreet does not have a paywall, but pavement-pounding journalism is not free. Join your neighbors who make this vital work possible.

The album is entitled, “Light For The Lost Boy,” and it was inspired by Andrew’s experience of reading the famous novel, “The Yearling,” by Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings. The book itself was set in “the scrublands of Florida,” as one review stated. The album is a collection of songs that describe the fragility of youth, and the reality of growing older.

I really loved the songs way back when I first got the CD, but this backstory to the lyrics has opened up a lot of reflection about this topic. Andrew weaves this theme throughout the songs on “Lost Boy,” borrowing from some of the characters in Rawlings’ book in a way that is both poetic and memorable. (I recently wrote an article about my own childhood experiences that involved our favorite swimming spot.)

We all must come to grips with this theme, whether we want to do so or not.

Truth is, just like the character Jody in Rawlings’ book who was looking for the fawn, we are all changing, growing up and getting older. My hair has turned from brown to gray, and then…it started turning loose.

The same knees that used to propel me upwards for a basketball jump shot can now be so stiff when I get up from the table at a restaurant that I have to pause a minute before walking.

I think that I am not alone in this quandary, and I am betting that a lot of you feel my pain, along with your own.

One of the songs on “Light For The Lost Boy” is entitled “Day By Day,” and in the lyrics he writes of this truth:

“So don’t lose heart. Though your body’s wasting away. Your soul is not, it’s being remade…day by day by day.”

We can’t hold onto youth. And we can’t avoid the process of getting older. But we can enjoy each and every season of the lives we’re blessed to live. And for believers in Jesus, the best is yet to come.

Subscribe
Notify of
guest
0 Comments
Oldest
Newest Most Voted
Inline Feedbacks
View all comments