New York is a pretty religious city. People worship all kinds of things: money, schedules, self, profession, status. It's much like here, but with more buildings. There are Christians, but the nature of the city doesn't seem to lend itself to spreading the Gospel. No one will look at each other, much less speak.

Cara's wedding ceremony took place in Riverside Church. The Nave is more than a little awe inspiring. The entire structure is covered in stone sculptures depicting the story of Jeremiah. The stained glass, the chancel, even the columns supporting the majestic, vaulted ceiling all tell the story. I can't fathom the design process...

Walking into the open space left me feeling exposed & small. In most large, open spaces, I feel the urge to shout. I noticed here, everyone was whispering. Solemnity bestowed by architecture. There was a weight given to the silence. In that silence, I could feel a low thrum in the air. Not something you might hear as much as you could feel. It was like the reverberations left behind of people who had gone on before.

I've been listening to U2's How to Dismantle an Atomic Bomb over the last few days. About a week ago, for no reason I can discern, I had a couple of dreams about songs on this album. Saturday morning, preparing to drive to Ralls, I rescued it from the depths of my guitar room & loaded it into the dashboard. The songs are catchy. Bono is cool. I get the gist of what is being said, but I didn't get it all - not right away. It takes multiple listenings. It takes different frames of mind. It takes hearing it in different company & under different skies. Then, usually, it takes my breath away. Something which had been sitting there all along. Something said in two lines that would have taken me ten. It's beautiful song writing. It makes me think.

Art isn't something at which we look. Art is something we look through. A lens with which to view the world. It colors our senses and causes us to think. To approach the familiar in a new way. God speaks through art. A low thrum. Reverberations of His wind beginning to blow. Are you listening?