I don’t know if you have the experience of music which, when you hear it, takes you right back to the era when you first listened to it.

That happened to me today. It’s a song called Rolling River God by Nichole Nordeman.

When I committed to God in my early twenties it corresponded with a time in Christian music when the songs of young female artists like Nichole Nordeman and Jennifer Knapp were being played a lot. I loved the music of these two musicians in particular, mostly because of what they sang about. Trying to understand God more, making sense of living for Him, the struggles, the way He redeems the messiness and pain in our lives. I really loved their honesty and the way they are so easy to relate to, and found their music very inspiring in those early days with God. I still do.

So today, I came across this song, which I love so much from that time. It gives a picture of God as a river, and us as stones, “rough and grainy still.” As we allow God’s influence upon our lives, we become smoother; “the deepest part of You is where I want to stay and feel the sharpest edges wash away.”

I hope it blesses you, and that our hearts focus more on God.

But when I close my eyes, and feel You rushing by,

I know that time brings change, and change takes time.

And when the sunset comes, my prayer would be this one,

that You might pick me up and notice that I am,

just a little smoother in Your hand.

Song reference – Rolling River God by Nichole Nordeman from Wide Eyed [1998]