Over the past ten years I attempted to write many songs. Unfortunately, I was never able to finish one. I used to tell people all the time that I was not a songwriter. If you know me personally, you would have found that funny. For my own edification, I have written two stage plays, two feature films, poetry, and I self published a book. Yet when it came to writing songs, I was all thumbs, until this year, when I was able to finish writing a song for the first.
The process began from a heartbreaking circumstance. A good friend of mine was going through a tough time. She was homeless, jobless, and under a tremendous amount of stress. Because of my limited resources, I wasn’t able to help her the way I wanted. As I began thinking about her situation, the lines, “My full weight, my full trust is on you, you alone,” came to my mind. Those words echoed in my brain for a few weeks. Little by little, God gave me more lines and before I knew it, my first song, “You Alone” was created. I sent the song to my friend and she loved it.
Until that recent experience, I was an admirer of the art form, but not a participant. I have written two songs this year and both are worship songs. I believe this is my sweet spot. I can’t imagine writing for another genre. If my songs invoke worship to the Lord–and not self–then I’ve done my job.
The most challenging part about writing a song is, simply put, writing the song. A song is not very long so you have to pack a lot in a little. With screenplays and stage plays, there are multiple pages that you can use to flesh out a story. If you hit a dry spot in a scene you can redeem it with an action sequence or character twist. That luxury is not afforded in songwriting, especially not in a worship song. You have to create a melodic message that invites listeners to join in on the worship experience. All of this work needs to be accomplished while keeping the song around three to four minutes long. It’s not easy, but it is worth it!
The most rewarding part of the writing process is looking at the completed version and thinking, “I did it. I really did it.” As a writer, I am potentially inspired by anything and everything all the time. Yet the majority of all those inspirational moments become fleeting thoughts, or they’re meant to provoke me to do good works instead of creative writing. So when an inspiration becomes something tangible, like a song, it brings a sense of joy and accomplishment.
At the age of fifteen, I gave my life to my Savior and Lord, Jesus Christ. It’s been eighteen years since I made that decision, and I don’t regret it. Before this year, I felt like something was missing. I felt like there was something I was supposed to do, and I couldn’t figure out what it could be. That all changed when I wrote “You Alone.” I was finally able to express my love and appreciation to God directly through song. Now that God has allowed me to write songs for Him, I look forward to the day when other worshipers can join me in that expression.
