Things Left Unsaid

I seem to be in a song lyrics phase lately...

I have realized that there are some incredible songs out there. Songs that make you cry, laugh, think, wonder, wish, roll your eyes and everything in between...songs that evoke every possible emotion and maybe even a few feelings you didn't know you had...and it just boggles my mind.
I love music. I love listening to the radio. But it never ceases to amaze me how incredible a song can be. The music and the melody are, of course, important and fantastic parts of the song. There are some songs I like simply because I like the way they sound.

However, most of my favorite songs are because of the lyrics...powerful lyrics. I wish I could write songs like that!! I marvel at the way that some people can take words and weave them around and create a masterpiece that leads the listener on a journey; leads them through memories or thoughts or ideas or...it's amazing. And in so few words, too, songwriters can create a world of their own or an emotion or tell a story!

I heard one such song on the radio on my way home from work today. I can't seem to stop thinking about it!
Here are the lyrics:

"Things Left Unsaid", by Disciple

It's just a matter of time a few days ago
I saw you, you were fine
Remembering what you said
About the book you read
The one I got you
The Beginning of the End
Oh how we'd talk
For hours upon end
What I would give
Just to do it again
But you're lying there
In this hospital bed
Won't you open your eyes
And let's talk once again

(CHORUS)
If you fly away tonight
I want to tell you that I love you
I hope that you can hear me
I hope that you can feel me
If you fly away tonight
I want to tell you that I'm sorry
That I never told you
When we were face to face

Well I've been here all night
And I'm watching you
Breathe in and breathe out
Is it really you
Or just a machine
That's giving you life
And it's making it seem
That there could be hope
I could say to your face
If it weren't for you
That there would be no grace
That's covered my life
You took the time
To speak into my mind
And my heart
Words of life

(Chorus)

So goodbye for now
But I'll see you again
Some way, somehow
When it's my time to go
to the other side
I'll hold you again
And melt at your smile
Now all I have
Are the ones that I'm with
And you taught me not
To take for granted
The time that we have
To show that we care
Speak into their minds
And their hearts
While they're here
And say I love you

(Chorus)

I don't know how you can hear this song...or even just read the lyrics...and not be moved to tears. This song so powerfully puts into words that tricky feeling of regret. You can feel the longing and the pain and the sadness emanating from the song...it gives me goosebumps!

Haven't we all felt this way? I'm sure at some point -- probably, if you're like me, many times -- in our lives we've all felt an overwhelming sense of regret, or as though we're too late. We've wished we'd done something or said something while we had the time. We've all put things off, thinking we had forever, only to be cruelly informed that that was our last chance -- and we wasted it. We've all taken things for granted and later regretted it.

Going back to the song "Things Left Unsaid"...we can learn a few things from it.

First of all, we can learn to seize the opportunities we have and not waste a day, a moment, a chance, an opportunity...because we may never get another like it. At a camp I attended last summer, I took a class about this very topic. Since then, I've been very intentional about telling people that I love them, giving hugs, giving compliments, and letting friends know that I truly enjoy them and treasure them. What if it's my last chance? Would they know what I think about them, how I feel about them?

But, even more important then this -- realize that death is NOT the end!! Take note of a very important line in that song: "So goodbye for now, But I'll see you again". It's easy to get so caught up in our pain and regret that we feel like the end has arrived. But it's vital to remember that death is NOT the end, that our goodbyes are only temporary!

Jesus triumphed over death for our sake. Because of Him, death is no longer the enemy. Death is not the end of anything; simply the beginning of our eternal life. Does that mean our life here on earth doesn't matter? No -- exactly the opposite! We as Christians need to tell the world of this good news -- that death is NOT the end, that Jesus DID die for US and for our salvation, so that we can live forever with Him in Heaven.

In fact, we are commanded to do this very thing:

"He said to them, "Go into all the world and preach the good news to all creation. Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved, but whoever does not believe will be condemned." -- Mark 16:15-16

And we need to do it NOW, and at every given opportunity -- before it's too late.