I have always been a huge fan of the music of the late Rich Mullins, who was killed in an auto accident back in 1997. I recently began listening to his music again, after several years. His band, The Ragamuffins, carried on for 2 more albums following his death, and I have those collections as well. There was always something about Rich's music that took me to another place, lifted my head above the clouds, and helped me experience God in the world around me. I remember that I cried when I heard of his death- it was like I lost a close friend, his music had so connected with me. It still does.
I can't really explain it, but when I listen to Rich's music, or the music of Johnny Cash in his final years, I have this aching in my soul- I don't know if its a lingering sadness over their passing, or if their music brings out a longing in my heart for the home they sang so much about. They both sang songs of home, i.e. Heaven, and yearned for the peace of the Father's eternal presence. I think the older I get, the more I long for that "home in a country I've never seen" myself. I believe its a longing God puts deep inside all of His children, the knowledge that there is more than just the stuff of earth- there are the "winds of Heaven," as Rich so often sang about. And one day, I'll stand in those warm breezes of eternity, and maybe join Rich in a chorus of "Awesome God". Something to look forward to...
"If if sing, let me sing for the joy that has born in me these songs. If I weep let it be as a man, who is longing for his home"- Rich Mullins, "If I Stand"