Dear Friends,
‘The Micah Pact’ is due to come out at some point during the next few days. These are songs that I’ve written over the years. I wrote them in an attempt to grapple with suffering, both my own and others’. Divorce, fatherlessness, loneliness, broken families, disease, poverty, untimely death – these things are real. Yes, tiny, malnourished children in South India live in a hospice, infected with AIDS because of the foolishness of their parents. Yes, so many people are lonely, so many marriages are crumbling, so many struggle for hope and meaning. Yes, I’ve felt the sting of these things, and so I will not offer trite answers or belittle the big questions.
“I can’t say your way’s convenient
Deus Ex Machina isn’t how my story ends, but
When push comes to shove, is it enough? Is it enough
That you have shown me that you love me more than life itself?”
(How You Save Me)
These songs are for my brother, Micah, and for the kids at PACT, Chennai. Life might have tried to name you Ben-Oni (Son of Sorrow) but the Father has named you Benjamin (Son of my Right Hand, Son of Strength), and I pray He carries you on His strong shoulders (Deuteronomy 33:12).
“I know you’re small and weak and fell right through the cracks in the land
But you are precious to me, chosen son of my right hand
And I will hold you till your crimson sorrow fades away
There’s a safe place for you nestled between my shoulder blades, and
Now I will love you till the sky falls down in sheets of flame
And I will love you when the world is still and new again
You can believe me when I say from now we’re family
Nothing can separate us for all of eternity”
(Ben Oni)
These songs are for my cousin, my brother, my friend, Reuben, who dreamed of living a life of uncommon generosity. He went to be with the Father long before we were willing to let him go, but we know we will see him again, in the twinkling of an eye, when the right Person speaks the word “Arise”. (1 Corinthians 15:52)
“Calling all the dreamers, fell asleep before you lived your dreams,
Arise.”
(Ben Oni)
These songs are for Cousin Abi, for Paul, for Masrat, for everyone who has been through the dark night of the soul. ‘Don’t forget in the dark what you knew in the light’ – God is still loving and faithful and kind, and everything’s going to be just fine. (Romans 8:37) He’s going to fix everything, we will hope in his promise until it comes true.
“When the shadows grow so tall and the night hangs heavy over you,
Though you feel you’ve lost it all, lost your sense of what’s real or true
If the night sky takes you in, what you knew, know it again:
That the light, the light will come again
The light, the light’s in you my friend,
The light, the light will surely win, will surely win
We’ll surely win”
(Not Alone, Not Afraid)
There, I’ve bared my heart again. I’m making quite a habit of this.
I do hope you enjoy the music, I hope it wraps itself around you like the strong embrace of a Father.
Love,
Taryn
‘The Micah Pact’ is due to come out at some point during the next few days. These are songs that I’ve written over the years. I wrote them in an attempt to grapple with suffering, both my own and others’. Divorce, fatherlessness, loneliness, broken families, disease, poverty, untimely death – these things are real. Yes, tiny, malnourished children in South India live in a hospice, infected with AIDS because of the foolishness of their parents. Yes, so many people are lonely, so many marriages are crumbling, so many struggle for hope and meaning. Yes, I’ve felt the sting of these things, and so I will not offer trite answers or belittle the big questions.
“I can’t say your way’s convenient
Deus Ex Machina isn’t how my story ends, but
When push comes to shove, is it enough? Is it enough
That you have shown me that you love me more than life itself?”
(How You Save Me)
These songs are for my brother, Micah, and for the kids at PACT, Chennai. Life might have tried to name you Ben-Oni (Son of Sorrow) but the Father has named you Benjamin (Son of my Right Hand, Son of Strength), and I pray He carries you on His strong shoulders (Deuteronomy 33:12).
But you are precious to me, chosen son of my right hand
And I will hold you till your crimson sorrow fades away
There’s a safe place for you nestled between my shoulder blades, and
Now I will love you till the sky falls down in sheets of flame
And I will love you when the world is still and new again
You can believe me when I say from now we’re family
Nothing can separate us for all of eternity”
(Ben Oni)
These songs are for my cousin, my brother, my friend, Reuben, who dreamed of living a life of uncommon generosity. He went to be with the Father long before we were willing to let him go, but we know we will see him again, in the twinkling of an eye, when the right Person speaks the word “Arise”. (1 Corinthians 15:52)
Arise.”
(Ben Oni)
These songs are for Cousin Abi, for Paul, for Masrat, for everyone who has been through the dark night of the soul. ‘Don’t forget in the dark what you knew in the light’ – God is still loving and faithful and kind, and everything’s going to be just fine. (Romans 8:37) He’s going to fix everything, we will hope in his promise until it comes true.
Though you feel you’ve lost it all, lost your sense of what’s real or true
If the night sky takes you in, what you knew, know it again:
That the light, the light will come again
The light, the light’s in you my friend,
The light, the light will surely win, will surely win
We’ll surely win”
(Not Alone, Not Afraid)
There, I’ve bared my heart again. I’m making quite a habit of this.
I do hope you enjoy the music, I hope it wraps itself around you like the strong embrace of a Father.
Love,
Taryn
Gorgeous song. Gorgeous you. Miss you!
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