Blue Song Writer

I sat in a small side room of the church filled with 45 others enjoying coffee, apple cider, cookies, and the music of Sara Groves. Behind Sara and her fellow musicians, the backs of the stained glass windows from the sanctuary reflected the lights. Also, a poster with the Art House Dallas logo slowly stripped itself from where it hung.

Between Christmas songs and selected music from a range of her albums, Sara told stories about her development as an artist. One particular story resonated with me.

She was working on an album that was to be big. Her producer thought it was time for something for the masses. He rifled through her newly written songs.

"These are great," he told her, "but we need more red songs. These are all blue songs."

So she went home to work on red songs. But the red songs would not come. God wasn't doing red-song work in her life. He was doing blue-song work. In tears, she went to her mentors, Charlie Peacock and Andi Ashworth.

"Sara," Charlie said, "I've never seen you as a Walmart. You're a Mom and Pop store."

Recognizing this truth, Sara went back to her producer, and they agreed to work on a Mom and Pop, blue-song album.

I (re)tell you this story that Sara shared at the intimate concert, surrounded by evidences of God's presence in the people and stained glass and hot apple cider, because I recognized this truth: it's okay to be a red Walmart writer, and it's okay to be a blue Mom and Pop writer. This truth resonates with Paul's words throughout his letters. We are God's vessels, and he gives us different gifts and different audiences and different works.

To be a red Walmart writer doesn't necessarily mean one is a sellout, driven by market demands rather than artistic integrity. To be a blue Mom and Pop writer doesn't necessarily mean one is difficult to work with or esoteric. It simply means that God has given one writer one set of gifts and one set of audiences and to another writer another set of gifts and another set of audiences. And he has tasked both with shining forth his glory.

Understanding this on that night as I sipped my apple cider and sang Christmas carols to finish off the concert imparted freedom. I desire to communicate in my art. I desire that my art embody humanity--its brokenness and God's presence in that brokenness. I desire that some may read my stories and know they're not alone. But it doesn't have to be commercially successful to be legitimate. Neither does it have to be misunderstood by the masses to be truly artistic.

Facing the backs of the stained glass windows, we listened and sang and worshipped in the small room of that church, not the large sanctuary. Yet God made his presence and his glory known.

Heather A. Goodman tells stories. Sometimes she tells these stories to children on camping hikes. Sometimes she tells these stories to adults in journals. You can download a selection of her published stories for free at http://noisetrade.com/heatheragoodman.

Comments

[Anne Mateer]

Amen, Heather. Oh, that we would all have the grace to allow others to be just who God created them to be.

[Eric]

Well said Heather (and Sara) - that's the key - finding and using our gifts as they were intended to be used from our Maker...

Thanks for sharing...

[Cheryl Pickett]

Excellent post for writers of any kind. Thank you for sharing it!

[Jeanne Damoff]

Love this, Heather. And I love Sara's music. It speaks to a deep place in my soul. May we all be content to sing our song anywhere and to anyone, no matter the size of the audience, knowing that the One who chooses our inheritance chooses well for us.

[Anna]

So blessed by this message this morning. More and more I find this to be true, that God makes us each for different purposes. To embrace our individual path and to be content with His praise alone, whether that be a public path or a very private, lonely one... that should be our aim. Thank you.

[Nicole]

Yes!

[Miz Melly]

Oh. My. Goodness. Heather, thank you for this - my whole soul is humming with resonance with your words. God's spoken truth to a part of me that was very conflicted. Thank you for allowing God to speak through you. Blessings, Melanie

[Angie Poole]

Love this, Heather. Last night our pastor reminded us that God gave each of us a group of people to reach that nobody else can. Your post confirmed this.