As a musician who writes music and sends it off into the world, there is a certain amount of angst and fear when you release your brainchild into the wild. Once your song is out there, you cannot control how people will hear the music, how they will interpret the lyrics, if they’re listening on less-than-optimal sound equipment. It’s kind of like sending your kid to his first day of school. You’ve done your best to raise him right and you hope that he will make some lifelong friends, not get picked on, and maybe even be popular.
But sometimes you forget as a musician or “parent” that there are some things more important than popularity. We live in an age where art and music is disposable simply due to the fact that we are inundated by so much material. To keep up with it is nearly impossible. So we listen to songs, shrug our shoulders and move on to the next piece of entertainment. But on the occasion when art is able to move us, there is something precious and priceless in it. You guys reminded me of that today.
Today, I had a chance to read through the hundreds of messages you guys sent in response to the album. Halfway through, I started to cry. These past few years I have felt like a failure as an artist. I lost so much time to circumstances outside of my control and did not accomplish the goals I had set for myself 7 years ago. But reading through your messages made me realize that I had already accomplished what I set out to do: make someone’s life a little better. When someone tells you that your words and music bring hope into their life and makes the world a little more bearable, it overshadows everything else.
So to all our fans old and new, thank you for being a light to me this season and reminding me why I do this. You guys bring me joy and your words of encouragement do not fall on deaf ears. I hear every word. God bless you guys and Merry Christmas!
Love,
Tim