I wrote a song last year called ‘Royal’ and commissioned my very talented friend, Kezia Tomsett, to compose the music and sing it for me. It was a gift for Jan on our 15th wedding anniversary, and it was inspired by a recent move to our first home on a ‘Royal’ street, and our desire to create a home to bless others and bring glory to God.
“… while some stars have faded, the dark sky is still studded with light”
‘Royal’ reflects on our journey so far; starting with how life hasn’t turned out how we expected (see a previous post, ‘Turning Thirty: Planning My Story‘) and how we’re in it together – the grief, the failings, the adventures – as God guides us with a far bigger view of our story and his plan. And while some stars have faded, the dark sky is still studded with light.
We often make a ‘royal mess’ of things in our marriage and in our own relationship with God, but we don’t ever want to stop loving or serving each other and those around us. Often, that kind of love comes at a personal cost, but we have the example and help of our Saviour who gave up everything to serve us.
“It was calming to remember that the creator of such wonder and magnitude was beautiful and powerful himself”
Stars feature heavily in this song, partly because of how significant they were for me at the time of writing this song. I was experiencing regular panic attacks and depression, and looking up at the night sky when I couldn’t sleep helped to settle my mind. It was calming to remember that the creator of such wonder and magnitude was beautiful and powerful himself. Yet I wasn’t insignificant to him in the grand scheme of the universe; I mattered.
Our marriage matters. Our life matters. Our hearts matter. And our royal stone (concrete) home, with its yellow rose-framed door, has a place in all of that.
I loved writing these lyrics, and while I may not be musically gifted enough to create a melody or sing along myself, writing has always been in my blood. I have talented musician friends who I’m sure would be happy to do a collab with me if I ever write more songs.
I hope you enjoy it! While there’s a lot that is personal to our journey, I believe the underlying message is relevant to all Christians today.
Verse 1
Didn’t think I’d live to see
Five hundred sunsets pass
Without half of you and half of me
Smiling back at us
Add five thousand nights
And we’re still stuck at two
I couldn’t have watched
All our stars fade out
With anyone but you
Chorus
Making a royal mess
But we’re learning, we’re growing
Making a royal home
As we’re loving and serving
Making a royal name
For the one we long to praise
Together, we’re living life royal
Verse 2
Down on earth our toes have felt
The warmth of shifting sand
Front North Wales out to west Peru
Living hand in hand
We’ve connected dots in our own way
And drawn our plans up high
To trust the map creator
In a still star-studded sky
Verse 3
Now in royal stone we carve
A heart-sized piece of home
And view the stars from higher
Than we ever thought we’d come
And as the sun rises
On our yellow rose-framed door
We’ll love, and learn, and laugh, and long
Some ten thousand times more
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