INSPIRASUNS

Last night, my husband and I had a date night. We went to see one of my favorite groups, Mercy Me, in concert. We’ve seen them before, many years ago, and I was just as excited to see them this time. We were supposed to see them last October, but Hurricane Milton forced them to reschedule their show.

I’ll just say that they were totally awesome. There were two warm-up groups, the first was Sam Wesley, who is actually the young son of Bart Millard, the lead singer of Mercy Me. He’s taking after his dad and touring with him. The next was Zach Williams, I’ve just recently listened to some of his music and it’s powerful. Both did an excellent job ushering in Mercy Me.

As we waited for the stage to be reset for the Mercy Me, I looked around the packed arena. I smiled as everyone was chatting with each other, perfect strangers talking like they were old friends. However, what struck me more was the amount of young people that were everywhere. Young kids, teenagers, and young adults, there were everywhere I looked. It made my heart happy to see young people so excited to spend a Saturday night at a…Christian rock concert!

As the show started, the place went crazy as you would expect. Bart and the group did not disappoint, they belted out each song with the passion and emotion that Christ has instilled in them. Midway through they slowed things down, changed the set to sit closer to the edge of the stage, and shared a little more about the group of songs they played. As you can probably guess, the crowd sang along, and many a time the mic was pulled away to only hear the crowd sing.

Throughout the night Bart talked about hope, the power of the love of Jesus, and overcoming the challenges we face. He talked about losing his father-in-law back in November to cancer, the “Most Godly man I ever knew”. Bart shared about his last days and the stream of friends that came to say I love you before he passed, all the while his father-in-law was totally lucid until the end. He shared how his father-in-law took the suit he wanted to be buried in, to the cleaners, telling the clerk, “I’m getting ready for the wedding banquet”. Man, tell me that isn’t faith I thought as I heard the story.

As I listened to, (and sang along to), those songs last night. I realized the power of music, especially when sung in mass. The feeling of hope and the presence of Father was so strong in that arena. The gift that this group of men gave to so many last night, it was priceless. This morning I give thanks to our Lord for the gift they gave, and give every day. It was a wonderful evening when the music I hear on my playlists regularly, came to life.

Have a good day friends, may it be filled with hope for a new day, and maybe a little music too 🙂 .

Psalm 105:2
Sing to him, sing praises to him; tell of all his wondrous works!