#2 Echoes of a Roar

Ahh, the lion’s roar! A piece that will probably echo through my soul as long as I live! This was a very special piece-probably the first special piece, honestly. In case you haven’t read it, the post is about a very strange and very emotional moment that happened to me around the start of the year. I’m not typically a very emotional guy, so having this all happen was weird. Weirder than weird. Really weird. 

But what’s more than the post and its weirdness was the reaction I got. It wasn’t my 15 minutes of fame, but I got enough of a reaction from a few people close to me that I was a little taken aback. I mean, I knew that moment was pretty special, but I didn’t realize just how special until I made it public. It really tripped me out, honestly.

I think that moment was when I started to realize that something really big was happening with this blog. I didn’t really know what, but I knew this was going to go somewhere. And while I still don’t have millions of avid readers, I definitely have seen a ton of value come out of this blog. I’m grateful for the experience that this has been so far.

Is it selfish to say that I have loved doing this blog because it has developed me? If it is, I don’t care. I have answered so many questions, some were ones that I didn’t even know that I had! I can barely wrap my head around how different, how much better and more developed a person I am because of this commitment. Heck, I feel like a writer is a huge part of who I am. It’s kind of weird to think about how a year ago, I didn’t even care about writing. Weird how life works sometimes.

But coming back to the response the post got, there was another part of that which staggered me: the reception from my Christian audiences. I was always something of a controversial figure in Christian circles. I got used to getting side-eye glances and hearing awkward fake laughs from people who weren’t sure what to make of me. I always felt like I was on the out’s of Christian spheres, more so than just about anywhere else I went, honestly. Church was probably the hardest place to be myself, so to crack myself open in a genuine way and get such a positive response was beyond staggering. I was stunned, speechless even! It was more than a dream come true because it was a dream that I didn’t even know I was dreaming. I couldn’t believe it was happening and I still sometimes can’t! 

But that’s not to say I don’t have a controversial opinion or two left up my sleeve. I just keep them close to the chest until the time is right. And speaking of sleeves, I don’t really dress like I used to, either. I still know a lot about heavy metal, but I’m not as fanatical about it as I used to be. Life doesn’t suck like it used to, so my music doesn’t need to be as depressing to get me through the rough days. But I still have no respect for anyone who flippantly talks smack about the genre. It gets us through a lot and you shouldn’t be so rude to someone’s source of life. Shame on you. 

So there you have it-the dawn of redemption! I guess if I had one takeaway I’d like to leave you with, it’s that God has a powerhouse way of redeeming people, bigger (and possibly weirder) than what you might see coming. Nothing has really changed since Jesus’ time: we all expect God to do one thing, but He does something else. But it gets results either way. I may not be big or famous, but I feel pretty good about where God has brought me. And who knows where He’ll take me tomorrow.

Until Next Time

May Peace be your Guide