Daily Word of Grace # 237 (May 10, 2021)
After leaving the progressive British rock band Genesis, Peter Gabriel embarked on a stellar solo career. His first hit was “Solsbury Hill” (1977) in which he sings about a spiritual experience he had atop Little Solsbury Hill in Somerset, England. It is a uplifting song primarily in the unusual time signature of 7/4, a song about letting go and starting a new chapter: “Climbing up on Solsbury Hill, I could see the city light. Wind was blowing, time stood still. Eagle flew out of the night. He was something to observe, came in close, I heard a voice. Standing, stretching every nerve, had to listen had no choice. I did not believe the information, just had to trust imagination. My heart going boom, boom, boom. ‘Son,’ he said, ‘Grab your things. I’ve come to take you home.’” He then describes his response: “To keep in silence I resigned. My friends would think I was a nut. Turning water into wine. Open doors would soon be shut. So I went from day to day though my life was in a rut. Till I thought of what I’d say, which connection I should cut. I was feeling part of the scenery. I walked right out of the machinery. My heart going boom, boom, boom. ‘Hey,’ he said, ‘Grab your things. I’ve come to take you home.’” Such mountaintop experiences are not uncommon, though many people initially, Like Peter Gabriel, keep quiet about it lest others dismiss them as “a nut.” These experiences will indeed make your heart go “boom, boom, boom” because the One who turned water into wine (John 2:1-11) is very real and has very real plans for your life. And ultimately you too will hear God say, “Grab your things. I’ve come to take you home.”
Love and Prayers,
Dave