In April of 2023, I was invited to come to Kosovo to work with a group of Jesus following artists there in a songwriting workshop. In the Albanian churches there, much of the music used is originally from America, and then translated into Albanian. Hence, the cultural context of the music and lyrics is often American and Western. The objective of the workshop was to create a group of Christian songs coming out of Albanian culture, relating to Albanian themes, experience, style, and the history and struggles of that particular community.
While I am neither Albanian or Kosovar, and not even primarily a musician, I was invited along with an number of other visual artists, to participate along side of the musicians specifically as visual artists — to listen to and walk along side of the musicians and create visual art responding to the issues and struggles of their community, to authentically represent worship to the Father in their context.
For each session through the several days of the workshop, we began with a short time of Scripture study and contemplation. The intent was to use these Scriptures, promises, examples of praise, and pictures of the character of God as the starting point for the following creative session, to see our work growing as fruit from the good seed of God’s Word.
I don’t remember the exact Scripture we covered for this session, but I do remember a clear sense of God holding us as his children. When my daughter was little, she loved physical closeness — things like riding on my shoulders or sitting close in my lap. There was a tenderness, and a presence in that connection. In my imagination, I saw a father, perhaps dancing a little jig, with his daughter bouncing on his shoulders. She is not even holding on to her father because she knew he was holding on to her and would not let go. The father, in his own joy springing out of the relationship with his child, does his own little dance step to whatever song she is singing as they move in harmony. Perhaps, as he takes a bigger step, she lets out a little squeal with the bounce. She is surprised, and maybe frightened for a moment, but he catches her and she knows she is secure, watching the world from her vantage point high in the sky.
It struck me how this reflects our relationship with the Heavenly Father, in His joy over us. We are so completely dependent on His love and care, and the way He lifts us up over the uncertainty and fear of the world around us. There are still moments when we catch our breath, when we cannot see our way ahead and we begin to be afraid, but what we do is center ourselves on His tender and joyful heart towards us.