The Power of the Written/Sung Word

I’m listening to a song “I Believe in Love” by BarlowGirl, a seemingly random song about walking in faith despite a lack of sight. However, with the song running through my earphones, the song is not so random.

I listened to this song in Albany, traveling back and forth to Sunnyview Rehabilition Hospital when I was home for a three-week stint with Mandy. Mandy had just received BarlowGirl’s “How Can We Keep Silent” cd for her birthday, and I stole it to keep me awake on the road as I drove. It’s like I’m there now – I sense the same exhaustion, I can hear the car running, I shiver in the November chill, and I can almost see the dark, wet road ahead of me.

It just struck me now as I listen how powerful music is. Not only does the song itself communicate a great message about faith, but it also has a whole second meaning, a reminder of love, perseverance, selflessness, and hope. There is the hope of another, brighter day tomorrow; there is the satisfaction of a job well-done, of progress made; and an assurance of the presence of the Lord in the whole situation, a presence that offers peace where there should have been anxiety and hope where there should be despair.

It just makes me think of the power the written language has to communicate. Not only does the song communicate the message of the song itself but because of the power of the medium of communication, it captured the emotion of the moment and now brings it to mind almost a month later.

Here it is: I Believe in Love

(the story behind the song)