A. has a hard time going to sleep sometimes.  I pick-up the guitar and she quickly finds a reason to calm down.  One of my most important modes of expression is for her a de-stressor.

Our current lullaby of choice is Running on Faith by Eric Clapton.  Some years ago, I borrowed the Journeyman album from my brother and just got hooked on the song.  I remember watching the Unplugged version my senior year in high school and thinking: ‘Yeah, that’s what I need…some good old fashioned perseverance’.  The faith, at that time, was about getting a chance to be a different person: to be better than I was, to be who God would rather me be.

Some time later, I learned the guitar and picked up a simple tabulation on the song.  Turns out to have a neat but simple little bump in the bass line that is a bit bluesy and fun to play.  For some reason it brings out the best intonations in my guitar (Seagull).  It is a gentle song, both to hear and to play.

There is something awesome about being able to play music.  It is true that, ultimately, music is an extension of the soul.  When there is confusion, anger, joy, compassion in the heart, there is often music that can help one express and understand what is really going on.  I didn’t know that I needed the blues, I just thought that it would help A. sleep.  As it turns out, I needed to sort a few things out.  That ability to play and sing, formed many years ago became an avenue for God’s wisdom to guide me to a better place.