Mosaic

Last night I curled up in bed with Amy Grant's - Mosaic: Pieces of my Life So Far.

Amy Grant has always been one of my favorite songwriters and performers. (I think I have a lot of them!) I still remember seeing her in concert two decades ago with my college friend Pat - when I was the mother of a two year old - and Amy's son was only a few months old. Since then, I have followed her career and collected all of her recordings.

This book is a fascinating collection of musings using the lyrics of many of her songs as a backdrop. Some of the writing is indicative of the inspiration for the songs. But most of it reflects the heart of a woman of deep faith. The book is inspiring and touching.

She speaks of meeting so many other musicians along the way - and many of her favorite - are mine as well: Carole King, James Taylor, and so on.

Here are some parts of the book that spoke to me:

"We have a way of branding each other, of branding ourselves...You're puffy...getting older...I see gray hairs...In a culture that worships youth and beauty, the process of aging, even gracefully, is not the feel-good experience everyone is looking for. I decided it's time to start reminding myself of some other words that are true. Today as I was brushing my teeth...I spoke to my forty-six year old reflection:

'You are made in the image of God.
You are the salt of the earth.
You are like starlight shining out in the darkness.
You're the light of the world.'

What is it about these words that is so mysterious and powerful?
I am just repeating what has already been said.
What is already true."

I thought of the So Ham Mantra - "I am That."

I thought of the inner self that is contained within the Supreme Self - and how we are one with the Divine...Aham - I AM...All we need is to recognize this...

Much of Amy's writing reflects her insights and prayers. She prays that her children will also have faith:

"God, find them, the way you found me..."

And she summarizes:

"They say hindsight is twenty-twenty. On paper the direction of my life seems so clear. The experience of it, however, has felt much more like a twisting, curving road full of surprises. My passion has always been the connecting power of music, connecting us to each other, to ourselves, and to the love of God..."

Ah! So true!