I love trains.
I am blessed to live about three blocks from the tracks so I get to hear the train whistle by about five times a day. It is peaceful and powerful at the same time. If I drive home a particular way, I have to cross the tracks and every now and then I'll get caught by a passing train. My reaction is always the same {regardless of the weather}:
I turn off the radio, roll down the windows, and close my eyes.
This picture was taken on one of those nights- stopped by the train, big, fat rain drops splashing onto my windshield, I silenced the music and opened the window to catch every last bump and crack as the train sped past my waiting car.
The train theme has bled into my music world lately, too. "Asleep On A Train" has no lyrics, but is Radical Face's way of imitating the simple, calming feeling of riding in a train car {you almost feel like a passenger rocking back and forth as the train flies down the tracks}.
"Asleep On A Train," by Radical Face
Aaron and I got to see Blind Pilot in Charlottesville at the Jefferson Theatre last weekend and the "train" theme showed up again in one of our favorite songs.
"New York," by Blind Pilot
It really is the small things that make life not only worth living, but worth enjoying. I am convinced that we are called to take notice of and celebrate good things. They are gifts- even the small ones. And for me, the sight and sound of a train is a good thing. So put a penny on the tracks and then search for the flattened version of it. Take a minute when you hear a train whistle by. Close your eyes and enjoy it. It is one of the few things that hasn't been corrupted by new technologies, but is authentic to how it has always been.
"I hear the train all night
Sound of it's wind blowing through our subtle lives..."
-''New York,'' by Blind Pilot
"'I tell you,' he replied, 'if they keep quiet, the stones will cry out.'"
Luke 19:40
Maybe the stones aren't the only things in this world crying out in praise and honor of our Lord.
With love,
B