The Answer, My Friend

One of my long time art students and a friend of Asherel's was singing in a homeschool choir production called, "Groovin". It was comprised of songs from the 60s. We went with low expectations, but happy to hear any rendition of Beatles music. We were shocked by how wonderful it was. The little skits and quotes from famous figures of that decade along with the music rocketed me back to that tumultuous decade. During the sweet and tender singing of "Blowing in the Wind", I found tears dribbling out of my eyes. There is much in the 60s I would not want to return to, including oversized bellbottom jeans, but the idealism of the period was laudable. Peace, love, Jesus.

My art student, Conner, is not only a talented artist, but I discovered watching her in the musical that she is a natural and gifted dancer and singer. She lit up the stage with such innocent and guileless enthusiasm that I found it difficult to look at anyone else. I kept watching her with pride. That is MY student, I kept thinking, as though I had something to do with the excellence with which she performed in all her artistic endeavors such as music and dance.

I was unaware in the 60s. I was a child, barely into my teens when the decade closed, and knew we were fighting in Viet Nam but was not very clued in to what it was all about. I knew JFK was shot, and I knew it made people sad, but I didn't know anything about the finality of death or the crushing of dreams and hopes yet. As a sheltered Northerner, I knew little about the struggles for Civil Rights, or the false antidotes for social struggles with drugs or sexual abandon. I did know about the peace sign, and flashed it happily along with everyone else. I thought the Jesus movement was comprised of lunatics.

It was nice to revisit the 60s with a little more experience and awareness under my hat. I was able to filter through some of the bad stuff going on then to understand that there was much beauty and hope and optimism for better things to one day come.

As the sweet voices sang, "How many times must a man look up before he can see the sky", I thought of how often God beckons, God urges, God speaks, God reveals Himself, and we still turn away without seeing, without hearing, without loving Him back....Then indeed the answer is blowin' in the wind. Yet the Bible tells us over and over again that if we ask of God, He answers. There IS an answer and we can find it if when we look up, we see not the ungraspable wind, but we see Him.


"Blowin' In The Wind"

How many roads most a man walk down
Before you call him a man ?
How many seas must a white dove sail
Before she sleeps in the sand ?
Yes, how many times must the cannon balls fly
Before they're forever banned ?
The answer my friend is blowin' in the wind
The answer is blowin' in the wind.

Yes, how many years can a mountain exist
Before it's washed to the sea ?
Yes, how many years can some people exist
Before they're allowed to be free ?
Yes, how many times can a man turn his head
Pretending he just doesn't see ?
The answer my friend is blowin' in the wind
The answer is blowin' in the wind.

Yes, how many times must a man look up
Before he can see the sky ?
Yes, how many ears must one man have
Before he can hear people cry ?
Yes, how many deaths will it take till he knows
That too many people have died ?
The answer my friend is blowin' in the wind
The answer is blowin' in the wind.

Ezra 5:11
This is the answer they gave us:
"We are the servants of the God of heaven and earth, and we are rebuilding the temple that was built many years ago, one that a great king of Israel built and finished.

Isaiah 58:9
Then you will call, and the Lord will answer;
you will cry for help, and he will say: Here am I.



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