In 2016, Switchfoot released their 10th studio album. I traveled to San Diego for the album release party, and spent time hanging out with the band and other fans at the first Switchfoot Getaway. The title song on the album has a special place in my heart, because it speaks to what I know to be true. We all have pain and hurts in our lives. The question is, how will you let that experience shape you?
When you’re feeling like an astronaut
Stuck on a planet even time forgot, and
You’re a version of yourself, but you’re not the same
You try to keep the wound camouflaged, and
The stitches heal, but the years are lost, and
Another bottle on the shelf can’t numb the pain
Why’re running from yourself now?
You can’t run away
Pain will leave scars, that’s a given. Can we learn to see the scars as a gift? In my own life, my biggest personal changes have happened when I started recognizing the blessings God was working through my brokenness.
‘Cause your scars shine like dark stars
Yeah, your wounds are where the light shines through
So let’s go there, to that place where
We sing these broken prayers where the light shines through–
Yeah, the wound is where the light shines through
The hardest part of being a believer is trusting God and his goodness. When my mom died, when my dad filed bankruptcy, when my business has struggled and my savings was depleted in order to keep the doors open, was God still good? I know he is, but in the middle of the crisis, it’s often hard to see.
Ain’t we all just Abraham’s son?
Saint and sinner with the song and drum, and
We’re fallen on our knees, we all bleed the same
And the only tattoos I have are scars
I got your name written on my heart
And the story that brought us here ain’t the thing that changed, no
I want to see that light shining
Brighter than the pain
The pain is real. The experience cuts us to the core. Through it all, God is working a divine plan. A plan that will glorify Him if we allow it.
Mama, ain’t the blood just proof I’m human?
Mama, ain’t the wound just retribution?
Well Mama, ain’t the scar like a vision of grace?
Our wounds, our scars are real. The beauty is, God has a perfect plan to tell His story through that pain. Do you see the light? Do you see the beauty? You are who you are because of the wounds. God needs us all to embrace the light that shines through us. We are His story in history.