The year was 1988, I was rockin’ a legit mullet (business in the front and party in the back) The Los Angeles Dodgers would win the World Series and the Magic Johnson led Lakers would win yet another NBA title. Superstars Michael Jackson and Whitney Houston were churning out musical hits left and right. A little-known group, “Mike and the Mechanics” had just come on the scene, led by vocalist and songwriter, Michael Rutherford, formerly of the rock band Genesis. If you don’t know who Genesis is, that’s fine; they were a group led by Phil Collins. If you don’t know who Phil Collins is……..SHAME ON YOU! Mike and the Mechanics would release a lyrically rich single called “The Living Years”. Click the link to listen: https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=P1eG6tGXRxQ
The hit song tells the story of a Father who passed away before his son could find the words to express what he felt inside. The song was not just a great piece of songwriting, it was a reflection of what Michael Rutherford experienced in his own life.
You see, Michael’s dad was a military man, and Michael was an artist. While there was love between the two, they never seemed to ‘connect’. There was awkwardness between the two. He would say they had no “common language” by which they could speak with one another. Michael was on tour when he received the 3am phone call, “your father has passed away”. There seemed like so much unfinished business between the father and son. Loose ends that needed to be tied up… and now it was too late. With that as the backdrop, Michael wrote the lyrics to “The Living Years”. As he returned home to go through his father’s belongings, he stumbled across a book his father had written but never published. It was his life’s memoirs; his father’s story. Michael would sit and read for hours. He said, ‘suddenly we had found a common language in his book and we were having conversations we should have had years ago’.
I find this to be true with many people who struggle with prayer. Your interaction with the Lord is clumsy and awkward. I think you’d find HIS Book…. the Bible, to be helpful. It’s common language that will connect you with your Heavenly Father. Here is a suggestion to get you going. Start small, but be consistent. Some 30+ years ago, I resolved to read at least one chapter per day. (It probably takes no more than 5min even for a dumb hockey player like me!)
Everyone can find 5min in their day! And the payoff… a relationship with God!
By the way, in case you were wondering, I no longer have the mullet, but still dig Phil Collins.