The drummer drums in the distance, pounding out a beat. A rhythm to move to, a rhythm to march to. And the armies converge. Forces unite. To the sound of that solitary drum they spring into swift action and unify together against the forces of the night. The battle is raging, but the drum beats on. You can feel it rising and you know the sun is looming just below the horizon.

Sometimes you loose sight. You can’t hear the drum and you don’t know where to turn. You forget what you were marching for, you fall out of line, and you can’t see the forest for the trees.

Sometimes I just don’t understand. I yearn to have it all figured out, but it just doesn’t work that way. Three hundred miles and the distance of eternity separate us–yet we are one and the same. I see myself in you. At least I think I do. I don’t know what happened. I don’t know what change took place. Maybe I’m just trying to glorify a sad tale, dramatize everyday life and make this something of poetry, something more than it is. But there has to be more than what appears. Can anyone be so lost? So aimless? That is what I least want to become. Don’t you hear the drum? When did you lose your sense of rhythm? When did you fall out of line? No matter, you can pick up again. You can see again. You can be again. Why, oh why don’t you see that life is more than miles and power, money and security. Let it all go. It’s worthless. Can the student correct the master? Or is it too late? Did any instruction occur in the first place? The pain and hollowness I feel inside tears me up. It breaks me down. The tears well up in my eyes and I cry out for answers. But the night always echoes back in silence. Always the silence. You have to learn to accept things. But it doesn’t mean I can’t change things. Or at least try. Perhaps some day I can understand the hidden pain behind your glassy stare, the false security that drives you, and the stunted value you place in this world. Perhaps someday.

Until that day I can only pray. Pray that the drum would beat louder and echo in your ears. Pray that the scales would fall off and you would see. Pray that some day you would answer with your last dying breath and we would finally see eye to eye.

Do you hear the beat? It’s growing louder. It’s coming. Are you ready?

Tired and weary and shaken and trembling. The responsibilities wear you down and take their toll. You lose sight of the goal, you forget what you were working for. Why am I doing this? What’s the point? Sometimes we need a reminder. We need to see that child’s face again and know the impact we’re having on his life. We need to see the faces light up and the people understand. We need to remember that God is opening up hearts, and we need to work that much harder.

You walk right by and you don’t understand. You won’t take the time to lower yourself and talk to me. Your time, your agenda, and your money is more important than anything I have to offer. Don’t bother giving me the time of day. You won’t even let yourself smile, enjoying the day and what I have to offer. That would be giving in. What kind of world do we live in when you can’t even exchange understanding smiles with a stranger or hear an encouraging word? I don’t need your money. I just want to crack through your hollow shell and shed some light inside.

Confusion pounds your skull and the heat makes your brain melt. My glasses fogged up when I walked out of the grocery store tonight.

What’s the difference between reality and your dreams? Reach to touch the sky and perhaps you will. Then again maybe you won’t. Reality grounds us all and forces us to concede. Compromise. Can you compromise your dreams? Can you compromise your goals? But is it really a compromise? As long as the message the still gets out, what’s the difference? Intellectual tug-o-war–and frankly, I’d like to sit this one out. Nobody ever wins.

Noble dreams and noble goals. Does what you do matter? Do the events of your life shape and impact people’s lives? Maybe not the way you earn your money, but your day to day actions. Do they change people’s outlook? Maybe you work on the assembly line and tightening screws can’t possibly change someone’s life. But do your very actions work for good? So often I have this twisted ideal that you have to do something so noble and earth shattering, something to make a difference in the world. Your very profession must do this, or somehow you’re second rate. But is that so true? If I don’t take that step with every minute of my life, in every inconspicuous action, then how can I expect to last in a profession where I’ll do that? If I don’t tell the kid on the bus about Jesus, then what makes me think I’ll tell the kid in Africa about Jesus? Of course that’s no reason not to go to Africa, but it boggles my mind sometimes. We can only get out of our comfort zone for so long. Can such a thing be a lifestyle? Is that even possible? I so want to find out. I so want to break these chains of apathy–but I can’t do it.

As you look down the road, there are so many open doors, hallways, twists and turns. They open up before you like a maze. So many possibilities. And so many questions. Where will the money come from? What if I fail? What if I choose the wrong path? Yet somehow I know I have no need to fear. A hand guides me through the darkness of the night, showing me the way. A hand of provision. A hand of mercy. A hand of love. A hand of love that will help me rise above the hills and carry me through the canyons. And so why do I worry?

So what’s your reasoning? Is this for your glory? Something you can tack your name on? So you can proclaim loudly to the world, “I did that.” So you can feel the pride grow in your heart? No, that’s not what I’m after. It certainly does feel good, but that’s not what I want. What do I want? I want someone to open their eyes. I want them to see. I want the light to come on inside their skull and for everything to begin to become clear. Of course it’ll never be crystal clear. They’ll always struggle with the haze. Don’t we all? I want someone to look at something like they’ve never looked at it before. To hear something and make them see life in a new way. I want them to experience God in a new way. I want them to change. Butts have been asleep for too long–mine included. It’s time to stand up. It’s time to scream our dream. I want people to find that kind of passion within themselves. I want to do whatever it takes to get them there. That’s my reasoning. I want to see God change hearts, change minds, change visions, and make dreams. I want to hear those dreams. I want to see those dreams being lived out. Scream them if you must, do what it takes. It’s time to raise the volume. Let’s get loud.