Ten Thousand Days

The thought just occurred to me that, when I was in middle school & high school, I never would have dreamed that I would write essays for FUN. Remember when you first learned how to write an essay? An essay is five paragraphs long, and a paragraph consists of five whole sentences. How TEDIOUS!! I was a Math/Science guy, and I couldn't stand English Lit & Comp. The idea that I now write essays for personal leisure would probably freak the teenage me out.

Yesterday, a friend of mine from high school named Jennifer turned 10,000 days old. I have a countdown clock on my MySpace to the 10,000th day of my existence outside my mother's womb. Jennifer saw that, calculated her own birthday, and her's was yesterday. My ten thousandth day will be in mid-March.

Why am I concerned with this? Well, one of my favorite music artists is Christian folk singer Bebo Norman. Bebo's lyrics speak to my soul. Whenever I go through seasons of distress, I frequently find myself turning to Bebo to help soothe my soul. Bebo's first album was named "Ten Thousand Days." That name appears to come from a lyric of the song that is the name-sake for this blog:

"Where the Angels Sleep Lyrics"

Artist: Bebo Norman

I don't know why I always run
Is it fear of the fall or fear of the touch
And I don't know where the angels sleep

And I don't know how to really love
I've never stood still long enough
And I don't know where the angels sleep

But I am alive and standing strong
I'm no farther forward, just farther along
I hold on to my pride and dig in deep
It's pulling me down, and I am no closer to release
And I don't know where the angels sleep

I don't know how to see you now
The friend from before is different somehow
And I don't know where the angels sleep

And I don't know when I'll love again
But I don't trust myself to just let you in
And I don't know where the angels sleep

It's taken ten thousand days
To get stuck in my ways
And it offers no grace
I cannot stand this place
With love in my face
I walk away slowly

I don't know where the angels sleep
No, I don't know where the angels sleep

I love this song. It intermingles big life questions with more insignificant, child-like ones. "I don't know how to do this... and I don't know where the angels sleep for that matter!!" In the midst of realizing that there are questions we won't find answers to, there is a calm that settles in as you let go of the relentless pursuit of answers and settle in to rest in God's sovereignty.

I get the impression that Bebo wrote this song when he was about my age. He was single, too. So, when I listen to songs from that album, I feel an existential connection with one of my favorite music artists.

So, only 1 Month, 16 Days, 14 Hours, and 1 Minute until I turn Ten Thousand Days old. I'll let you know when it happens. (G)