Lay It All Down

I remember the night like it was yesterday.  It was a Saturday night this fall at home after I had been gone for a few days working on a live recording with Common Hymnal for the upcoming string of song releases.

As I spent some time in quiet and reflection, I began punching the lyrics to this song.

The more I poured out my heart, the more I began to weep.

I’ve known for quite some time that I am suppose to renter this world of sharing music.

It was nearly 10 years ago that I heard the Lord whisper to my heart these simple words: “quit striving and be faithful to what I put in front of you.”

That changed my life. I had spent the years previous striving to and make something happen in music. All good things. But the Lord clearly had a plan to take me on a journey that would teach me things I have come to treasure.

Being rooted is everything.

“Dreams” aren’t always something to chase but rather something to allow them to come into clarity and become reality in God’s way and timing as we simply remain faithful.

Fast forward again to the past year.

The same way he spoke to haunt a decade ago, he has repeatedly spoken that it is time to resume. But this time it’s entirely different.

I’m not interested in leveraging, striving or even creating content to be consumed.

No. This time it’s the same response of faithfulness that haulted the recoding process that is now resuming it.

No matter what we walk through in life, we eventually discover that the way of trying to force outcomes seldom works.  The hopes and dreams we once chased have a funny way of coming back around when we are willing to die to our dreams and submit to the process. 

LAY IT ALL DOWN
written by Mark Alan Schoolmeesters

Well lord here we are

Right back at the start

With a dream you birthed in my heart

I’ve run a distance, drifted far 

The miles how they’ve wore me down 

The years I spent to chase a crown 

Only to find you pick me up 

When I lay it down 

Lay it all down 

I lay it down down down

I lay it down

It’s time to start again 

Where I find I’m at my end 

This season don’t make much sense 

But here I am with open hands 

I am older now than I should be 

The wrinkles show their wear on me 

Only to find you lift my head 

When I lay it down 

My dreams, My pride 

My family, My life 

I lay it all down 

Lay it all down 

My hopes my plans 

The things in my hands 

I lay it all down 

Lay it all 

Here, Lord have my heart

I’ll heed your whisper near or far

Just keep me where you are 

And I will lay it down 

They say your timings never late 

But it seems I lost a whole decade 

Even so I wouldn’t change a thing 

Just to lay it down