lessons learned from a drummer on the side of the road

It wasn't the comforting sounds of rain tapping on your window. No, not at all. I woke up to a torrential downpour. My first thought as I began to open my eyes was what I would wear with my rain boots. After shaking off the cobwebs lingering in my brain, I poured a quick cup of coffee, grabbed my backpack, slid into my boots, and ran out the door. Quick. Easy. And attempting to motivate myself for the day.

I commute to the University of Florida and have really begun to enjoy the 40-minute drive to Gainesville. Driving down country roads has a calming effect...country music blaring and windows down with the wind blowing through my hair (well when it's not raining!). I was probably about 30 minutes into my drive, lost in thoughts of everything I wanted to accomplish today and hoping that 103.7 would play all my favorite songs, when I hit Paynes Prairie.

Paynes Prairie is this strip of wildlife right before you hit Gainesville--I like to think of it as nature's way of welcoming you to Gator Nation because you are literally driving through a gator nation! It isn't abnormal to see cars pulled off to the side of the road as onlookers take in the scenery, but today I saw something really different.

A white truck caught my attention on the left-hand side of the road. As I began to pass by, I noticed something very unusual--a drum set. And not just a drum set, but a young man playing that drum set with everything in him--with all of nature waking up to the melodies he was creating.

That's when it hit me like a ton of bricks: he was giving today all he had. It didn't matter what people thought as they drove by or that it was a gloomy, rainy morning. It didn't matter to him. He wanted to wake up with the world at his fingertips.

I don't know this man or his story, but what I saw grabbed my attention. What would it look like if I chose to play drums on the side of the road with God's creation as my audience? What would it look like if I chose to write passionately, speak the truth unashamedly, follow my convictions boldly, and loved extravagantly?

Romans 8:15-16 says, "This resurrection life you received from God is not a timid, grave-tending life. It's adventurously expectant, greeting God with a childlike, 'What's next, Papa?' God's Spirit touches our spirits & confirms who we really are."

What if I woke up each day ready for an adventure? What if I lived like I wanted to wake up the world? I think if I truly lived like that guy jamming out in Paynes Prairie, the world couldn't help but notice.