Nothings gonna change my world

Sweat dribbled off my nose as I sat waiting for the library to open. My bicycle was locked at the side of the bench, and I sat dripping sweat on the black iron seat. In front of me, a bright purple tree was in full bloom. I wouldn't have given the tree more than a quick glance had the library been open, and I could have buzzed right in. But instead, since I had nothing else to do for the next 15 minutes but sweat, I gazed at the beautiful tree. I was grateful for the slowing of time to reflect upon the tree, with its varying shades of violet. The day would soon reach a tumultuous pace, and this forced time of reflection was a blessing.

I think that might be why we need Father's Day...and every other holiday. It makes us sit and pause and reflect for a brief time on the importance of the things we sometimes take for granted because they have always been there. It feels like they always will be. Really, I should be thanking God every moment that I have a father, that he always provided for us, that he always looked out for our best interests, and that he always filled our lives with rich experiences, that he always loved us. I should be praising every moment all the quirky, crazy, and unusual character qualities of my Dad....and when I think of it....I do. I just don't think of it as often as I should. Probably none of us do.

We sat for four hours last night at a Beatles' Music Party uptown. It was a concert of 28 different talented music groups from all over North Carolina gathered to celebrate the Beatles. Even for Asherel, four hours of Beatles is a lot of Beatles. I was astonished by the level of talent in just our one city. No wonder my book still isn't published, I thought. If music were as competitive as writing, and I suspect it is, there is an awful lot of talent out there that an unknown artist must rise above to gain notice. In between musing about talent and Beatles, I had to shake myself awake. I love the Beatles, but 240 straight minutes of them can try the attention of even those who normally stay awake beyond 9 pm.   We didn't get home til 11:30, and as I collapsed in bed, closing my eyes with a sigh of contentment, I did not fall asleep. In fact, the refrain from one of my favorite Beatles song, "Nothing's gonna change my world." kept pounding at my eardrums, long into the wee hours of the new day:

Sounds of laughter shades of life are ringing
Through my opened ears inciting and inviting me
Limitless undying Love which shines around me like a
million suns, and calls me on and on
Across the universe
Jai guru deva, om,
Nothing's gonna change my world,
Nothing's gonna change my world.
Nothing's gonna change my world.
Nothing's gonna change my world.


I had never really listened to the words of the song. I just loved the melody and being a little hard of hearing, I have never understood exactly what the words were. I had thought it conveyed an arrogance, a feeling of invincibility that the singer was so secure in his place upon the earth that nothing could shake him, nothing could change him. But I realized that whether it is what the Beatles meant it to say or not, what the song is really about is that if one is rooted, grounded in love, nothing the world throws at them matters. Love really is what makes the universe spin but not throw us off.


That is the gift of a good father. To love a child so well that nothing's gonna change her world.

Happy Father's Day, Dad.


1 John 4:12
¹² No one has ever seen God; but if we love one another, God lives in us and his love is made complete in us.

Beatles:
Limitless undying Love which shines around me like a
million suns, and calls me on and on

1 John 4:16
¹⁶ And so we know and rely on the love God has for us.
   God is love.