best i can

Have you ever heard a song and just have it kick you right in the heart?  Like wow, that song is just all about me right now and it's...just inspiring.  

Certain songs through my life really stick out to me, some because of what they say, others because of the time period of my life that was defined by the song.  Songs like 'Where the Streets have No Name' by U2, 'What if' by Matt McCoy, 'Walking in Memphis' by Marc Cohn, 'Sweet Child O' Mine' by Guns n Roses, anything off of Def Leppard's Hysteria album, 'Evenflow' by Pearl Jam, Audio Adrenaline's 'Big House' and 'Bag Lady,' 'Meet with Me' from Ten Shekel Shirt, 'Beautiful Collision' by David Crowder Band and 

'Dancing Queen' by ABBA...oh...did I say that out loud?  

The other day I received a copy of Decyfer Down's new album 'Crash.'  Decyfer Down is a band from Morehead City, NC and I'd describe them as 80's hair metal crashed into Soundgarden plus modernity.  Needless to say, I loved them right off the bat.  

But they have a song that got me, a song that describes where I feel I am right now.   The song is called best I can and here are some of the lyrics...

Been thinking about
All those lies you heard me say
I can't make them go away
Been thinking about 
All those mistakes you've seen me make

When I can barely hold on 
You promise me you won't let me go 
And I want you to know

I don't live a perfect life
But God knows I'm trying the best I can
And I have wasted so much time
Pretending I'm alright about who I am
But now I'm living the best I can

Been thinking about
It's hard to see what you see in me
Would you lay it out for me?
Been thinking about
This isn't the way I thought I would be

When I can barely hold on 
You promise me you won't let me go 
And I want you to know

I don't live a perfect life
But God knows I'm trying the best I can
And I have wasted so much time
Pretending I'm alright about who I am
But now I'm living the best I can

Oh yeah I know, I'm supposed to have everything together right?  To that I'm saying, I'm trying, I'm a work in progress too.  

All of us are works in progress...works in progresses...workses is progressionses...you know what I mean.  We are all either on  some point in the same journey or are still at the starting line yet to start, with others who have fallen off the path.  God never expected Christians to be amazingly perfect once we accepted His Son, BUT He does expect that we live the for Him, that we make progress, that we do the best we can.  That we seek Him, His will, His lifestyle, His glory through what we are doing and how we are living. 

Through all the times and all the mistakes I have made and will make, I know there's grace and I'm so thankful for that.  I know there's healing and restoration and I'm so thankful for that.  I know there's love and compassion and I'm so thankful for that.  But because of that, there has to be a response with our lives.  Our response has to be, at worst, to do the best we can, to grow, to learn, to change.   

Are you doing the best you can?  Why don't you join me as a work in progress, we'll get there...