Caedmon's Call

I took my daughters to a Caedmon's Call concert in Hickory last night. It was a splurge in the middle of tight budgetary constraints for the Hoyt family, but wow, was it ever worth it. They grew up listening to this music -- large and loud in the living room, booming from beneath the bathroom door, streaming out from the car windows on every road trip, short or long. They heard me singing along to every cd, watched me serve as a street rep, pounding the pavement to get more people to come to Caedmon's concerts, and in general, learned about God, about life, and about how to be a REAL Christian from these great folks.

Well...

We drove up to Hickory and were first met by friendly people who provided free hot dogs, chips, and drinks. We sat in the fifth row for what was an amazing concert -- two and a half hours of beauty. And the best part was watching my girls and realizing that while I was trying (and primarily failing) to instill values in them and teach them about our faith, they were soaking it up through the song lyrics. They sang along to most of the music, and huge grins swept across their faces when they caught the eyes of one of the band members.

But the best was yet to come.

After the show, the band went to a local coffee house where Andy continued to sing several songs off his new solo album. The others were available for a quick chat over coffee, and my girls were moved by their humility and openness to meet and greet new people in each town. My sixteen-year-old has been a little jaded lately. She's seen Christians act in ways that were unbecoming and lie or cheat on tests or even (shudder) grab another girl's goods in the school hallway after attending a Christian gathering the day before. I didn't want her to be so disheartened. I realize we're all just muddling through here really. But her faith was growing slim and her light dim. What an honor it was to watch these seasoned musicians tug at her heartstrings with their cheerfulness, their gentleness, their welcoming attitudes and availability.

The highlights?

When we moved from Virginia Beach, I listened to one Caedmon's Call song over and over. Hearing Derek Webb sing it (he had left the band to pursue a solo career for the past six or seven years and was back with the gang for this tour) was really special:

"Hometown weather is on TV
I imagine the lives of the people living there
And I'm curious if they imagine me
Cause they just wanna leave; I wish that I could stay.

But if I must go
things I trust will be better off without me
but I don't want to know
cuz life is better off a mystery."

We were singing that song in the car on the way home, and Hilary was digging around for a tissue in the glove compartment at the same time. Well, for some strange reason, inside the glove compartment was a photo of our old house in Virginia. She pulled it out and showed it to me as I was singing. I about lost it.

Other highlights...

Watching the coffee dude make bong coffee (you had to be there) and hearing "This World" and "Lead of Love" performed live, talking to Derek about Burlap to Cashmere, and the opportunity to pass along my thanks to Cliff for years of support during my darkest times. What a blessing.

So anyway, thank you Caedmon's Call for being so accessible for my girls, for signing Drew's songbook since he couldn't be there himself, and for writing all those amazing, deep, thought-provoking songs, and for taking the time to tolerate people like us who can't get enough of your beautiful music and whose lives have been changed because of it. It's not just the Compassion International kids you are touching. We're everyday people eeking out a living, cleaning our toilets, raising our kids, going to church, listening for God's voice in the car -- aided and abetted by your music. You guys fill our emptiest days with life more abundant. Hey, I think that makes you Jesus with skin on. Anyway, thanks.

Yours -- blissfully belting Forget What You Know or quietly whispering "You're no more than just a piece of glass" into the lying mirror each morning,

Megan Elizabeth

Who are you that lies when you stare in my face
Telling me that I'm just a trace of the person I once was
Cause we're not the same, you're just a picture of me
You're gone as soon as I leave; you've lived my life for me
And you're no more than a piece of glass