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 American and Western. The objective of the workshop was to create a group of Christian songs coming straight out of the 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 would begin 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 creative session, 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 young, she would love 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 with his daughter bouncing on his shoulders, watching the world from her vantage point high in the sky, unafraid of what might be swirling around beneath her. Not even holding on to her father because she knew he was holding on to her and would not let go. And the father, in his own joy springing out of the relationship with his child, doing his own little dance step to whatever song she is singing as they move in harmony.
It struck me how this parallels 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.