A World of Our Own Making?

A world where hearts will cease their aching

will be a world of our own making

When we start giving more than taking

we'll find what's lost is worth the cost

Lyrics by Ed Kee

Music by Randy Kartchner

If you have been listening to the news at all lately, it seems like our world is in an upheaval. From hurricanes to NFL player protests - what on earth is going on? Is the lyric to this song really true? Do we really have the ability to make a world where hearts cease their aching?

Once in a while, these days, I tune into the news but most of the time I'm tuning into the music for this year's Portraits of White winter concert. It takes me months to learn the songs, memorize them and plant them deep into my soul so that it's one seamless night of inspiration! As I "soak" in the music, I also meditate on the words and pan for nuggets of joy and hope like a prospector might pan for gold. Many of these nuggets will become potential gems for the concert.

This year we are including a new song co-written by none other than Ed Kee, the conductor himself and Randy Kartchner. The standard for a song choice for the concert is simply that it be a GREAT song, whether it's known or not. No one twists my arm for song choices and Ed certainly didn't push for us to use his song. I just felt that the song fits this year's concert and so we've included it. I LOVE the song.

You'll certainly hear songs you know and love, probably played in a way you haven't heard, but no Frances Drost concert is complete without original tunes. The lyrics posted above come from the song "Christmas All Year Long". It has a great message for the times we live in.

Ed Kee, conductor and songwriter.

As I've been learning this song, my first reaction to this verse lyric, "a world where hearts will cease their aching, will be a world of our own making" made me stop and think. As a Christian, we would usually say that Jesus is in charge of all things and He is the maker of our world, right? 

So shouldn't we just pray and leave it up to GOD to make it better? Doesn't it sound a bit humanistic to think we could create a world where hearts stop aching?

Can we make THAT much of a difference in our world? 

The more I've meditated on this lyric, the more I must agree with the writer (and not just because he's my conductor) but because I believe that how we treat each other has a big impact on our world. Small acts of kindness go a long way.

One musician sent me an email after last year's concert, thanking me for the opportunity to be a part of the event and though he loved the concert, he seemed to most appreciate how he was treated. That spoke volumes to me and reminded me that above and beyond the music, it's more important that I treat everyone involved with kindness.

What kind of world are you making where you live? A smile, an encouraging word, a pleasant post on social media, a donation to a charity that's helping others survive the disasters, spending time with your child and giving them a chance to speak their mind and not shut them down; there are so many ways we can make this world a better place. 

"If it's Christmas in our hearts

then may our gift be love

and hope our song

when men are blind to all but kindness

compassion will remind us

it's Christmas all year long"

Ed Kee

Randy Kartchner

Click here to purchase your tickets to see this grand event and consider inviting others to come with you as a gift of love to them.