Reclaimed. Period.

This past weekend I had the amazing (and random) opportunity to see two of my biggest musical artist influences. They truly changed my life with their music at a very, very young age. Michael W. Smith and Amy Grant.
It was truly the most random thing. I remember not believing it when I first heard the radio announcement that they were coming to town. MY town. You know? The one that NO ONE ever comes to on tour? I remember checking and double checking online to make sure it was HERE they were playing and not somewhere else with the same or a similar name. Nope. Here. For sure. I decided that this was fate. Two artists from my childhood are coming to my town of all places. I'm seeing them. No questions.
I'm going to be brutally honest. I bought the ticket and I didn't take the whole thing seriously at all. It was almost like a novelty. I mean, we must remember that these two have been creating music for 30 years now. My mindset was more of "Wow, it's really going to be them!" than "Wow, this is going to be an awesome experience!" As I said, brutally honest. I got the ticket solo and planned to make it my own little night.
I got there half an hour early and sat comfortably in my seat and realized...I am truly giddy! I am much more excited about this than I realized. After a very short half hour, the lights dimmed and they were on the stage. And God met me there.
I don't even know where to begin. Or end. Or what to put in the middle. It was just...epic. The show started out with Amy Grant primarily. Michael W. Smith played piano for her some but did little singing which was reflective of their early years together (he started out as her pianist). Amy was great but I'm not AS familiar with her music as I am Michael's. I really enjoyed everything she did though. She struck me as entirely different from what I've always pictured her as growing up. I think I always thought of her as a sort of badass...and she came off as something SO much sweeter. You couldn't look away from her because she was so radiant and amazing. Intermission came and they switched out the set for Michael's band. When he came back on he started with some oldies and I knew right away that this half of the night would stay with me for a long, long time. Amy came back on and they did several duets from Michael's albums. And I couldn't help but sing along...since I knew every. single. word. But it wasn't until this point that I completely lost control. They kinda winged it for a bit which was REALLY enjoyable. It was REALLY great to see them interact as people and tear up and talk about real things in their real lives. They sang a song together about saying goodbye to your kid as they grow up and they both had to trade off singing because they kept tearing up about their kids. It sounds cheesy but there was NO dry eyes in the audience. Then they sang this. It's a song I've known since I was very, very young and I've always loved it but that night, it took to another level. They said it was a love song and they sometimes felt awkward singing it together since they're both married and their relationship to each other is like siblings. So they said that instead of seeming like they were singing it together, they wanted to sing it and dedicate it to the audience, to anyone who had been separated from their love due to their service to this country. And that's when I completely LOST it. I didn't tear up. I cried and cried and cried and cried. And the rest of the concert continued like that. I wasn't a blubbering mess the whole time but it was truly emotional. And not just for me...they continued to tear up during certain songs and speaking to the audience about their lives and about God's work in their lives. It was just so AWESOME to see them be emotional, proof that they weren't calloused to what they did even if it was after 30 years of doing it. It was still real, the heart of God was still beating. At one point, Michael said "He is IN the room." And it was true.
There were SO many amazing moments in that room. But one of my favorites was this: Michael was sharing how he does shows and tries to cater to everyone but he knows that everyone in the room is convinced he'll play THEIR favorite song...out of the 300 or so he's written. Obviously that's impossible but he said he'd do his best. He then shared about one album he wrote with two of his favorite artists in 3 days. He said it didn't turn out that great but there was one song on it that he'd always really loved so he said he wanted to play it for us. And it was my favorite. And I just felt God there saying "Yes, I'm paying attention. This is for you."
During the concert, God showed me three things. A tattoo and a painting and something I am still processing. And the title of both the tattoo and the painting is "reclaimed." I could see the painting already and I can still see it now and if I had a blank canvas I would start it tonight. It's that clear. But I just felt God telling me that this night was special; tonight he was reclaiming me. He claimed me once before but tonight he was reclaiming me...despite everything. That's when I realized reclaimed is never-ending. Claimed is once. Reclaimed is twice...and every other time after that. God told me, "I will never fail to show up to reclaim you. You are mine."
I know it's cliche to say a concert changed your life...but I think it's cliche because it HAPPENS. Music moves people and it's one of the most unique mediums God speaks to people through. That night changed my life. I will never be the same. And I will never be able to adequately explain it to anyone. I just know...God got my attention. And I'm listening.

Photos: Meself