We’re all born to broken people on their most honest day of living
and since that first breath. . .
We’ll need grace that that we’ve never given
I’ve been haunted by standard red devils and white ghosts
and it’s not only when these eyes are closed
these lies are ropes that I tie down in my stomach,
but they hold this ship together tossed like leaves in this weather
and my dreams are sales that I point toward my true north,
stretched thin over my rib bones, and pray that it gets better
but it won’t won’t, at least I don’t believe it will . . .
so I’ve built a wooden heart inside this iron ship,
to sail these blood red sees and find Your coasts.
don’t let these waves wash away Your hopes
this war-ship is sinking, and I still believe in anchors
pulling fists full of rotten wood from my heart, I still believe in saviors
but I know that we are all made out of shipwrecks, ever single board
washed and bound like crooked teeth on these rocky shores
so come and let’s wash each other with tears of joy and tears of grief
and fold our lives like crashing waves and run up on this beach
come on and sew us together, tattered rags stained forever
we only have what we remember

My throat still tastes like house fire and salt water
I wear this tide like loose skin, rock me to sea
if we hold on tight we’ll hold each other together
and not just be some fools rushing to die in our sleep
all these machines will rust I promise, but we’ll still be electric
shocking each other back to life
Your hand in mine, my fingers in Your veins connected
our bones grown together inside
our hands entwined, Your fingers in my veins braided
our spines grown stronger in time
because our church is made out of shipwrecks
from every hull these rocks have claimed
but we pick ourselves up, and try and grow better through change
so come on and let’s wash each other with tears of joy and tears of
grief
and fold our lives like crashing waves and run up on this beach
come and sew us together, we’re just tattered rags stained forever
we only have what You remember

from Wooden Heart, released July 6, 2010

“I want you woven into a tapestry of love, in touch with everything there is to know of God . . . In this way we are like the various parts of a human body.  Each part gets its meaning from the body as a whole, not the other way around. . . . Each of us finds our meaning and function as a part of His body. . . So since we find ourselves fashioned into all these excellently formed and marvelously functioning parts in Christ’s body, let’s just go ahead and be what we were made to be. . . .”  Colossians 2:2; Romans 12:5f, The Message