Do not fear, for I have redeemed you;
    I have called you by name; you are mine.
When you pass through the waters, I will be with you,
    and through the rivers, they shall not overwhelm you;
when you walk through fire you shall not be burned,
    and the flame shall not consume you.
-Isaiah 42:1b-2

I hope that, when I die, and see my life pass before my eyes, there’s an accompanying playlist.

Actually, I already made it. You can listen to it, if you want: Mitch’s Life Soundtrack. It’s on Spotify.

It’s an eclectic mix. A little on the “New Wave” side of things, which fits for a child of the 80s. These aren’t necessarily my all-time favorite songs, but ones that bring me back to a certain time in my life.

One song that leaped out at me was Fire and Rain, by James Taylor. I fell in love with this song at an early age. I was probably in 5th grade, and would play it every night on the record player beside my bed.

I had just made a particularly difficult move to a new town in the middle of a school year. I didn’t even have the words to describe it, but I was depressed. Even if I didn’t understand all the meaning behind the words, the song seemed to echo my inner pain.

Oh, I’ve seen fire and I’ve seen rain.
I’ve seen sunny days that I thought would never end.
I’ve seen lonely times when I could not find a friend.
But I always thought that I’d see you again.

Do me a favor and scroll up to the scripture from Isaiah. Couldn’t those words have been written by the same person?

There’s a longing in Taylor’s song—a sense of hoping for something that may never come to pass. But Isaiah’s words stand in contrast: not just a lament of fire and rain, but a promise of presence through them. If Fire and Rain echoes the pain of life, Isaiah sings the next track: a song of endurance and redemption. Seeing them side by side is a play-by-play of such a difficult year.

That got me thinking about my soundtrack. I have a scripture “soundtrack” too. Passages and stories that spoke to me in good times and bad, accompanying and guiding my journey.

Just as music has been in the background of every stage of my life, so has scripture. Sometimes it’s been very much at the forefront. And in a few precious places on my playlist, the two overlap.

If I were to start building a scripture soundtrack, it would of course include Psalm 23. And Romans 8:38-39, because I needed to be reminded that nothing could separate me from God’s love. Maybe Mark 4:35-41, when Jesus calms the storm, because sometimes I’ve needed that reminder too.

Creating a scripture “soundtrack” may take more than an hour messing around on Spotify, but it’s an idea that hadn’t occurred to me before. There is such power in those words–power that has shaped and defined me.

This may be my project for Lent this year. A list of the scriptures of my life.

Just like all the songs I’ve collected,

I ought to have

a record of them.

Have a great week,

Mitch

If my scripture soundtrack has a refrain, this is it: