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lessons learned from a drummer on the side of the road

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It wasn’t the comforting sounds of rain tapping on your window. No, not at all. I woke up to a torrential downpour. My first thought as I began to open my eyes was what I would wear with my rain boots. After shaking off the cobwebs lingering in my brain, I poured a quick cup of coffee, grabbed my backpack, slid into my boots, and ran out the door. Quick. Easy. And attempting to motivate myself for the day.

I commute to the University of Florida and have really begun to enjoy the 40-minute drive to Gainesville. Driving down country roads has a calming effect…country music blaring and windows down with the wind blowing through my hair (well when it’s not raining!). I was probably about 30 minutes into my drive, lost in thoughts of everything I wanted to accomplish today and hoping that 103.7 would play all my favorite songs, when I hit Paynes Prairie.
Paynes Prairie is this strip of wildlife right before you hit Gainesville–I like to think of it as nature’s way of welcoming you to Gator Nation because you are literally driving through a gator nation! It isn’t abnormal to see cars pulled off to the side of the road as onlookers take in the scenery, but today I saw something really different.
A white truck caught my attention on the left-hand side of the road. As I began to pass by, I noticed something very unusual–a drum set. And not just a drum set, but a young man playing that drum set with everything in him–with all of nature waking up to the melodies he was creating.
That’s when it hit me like a ton of bricks: he was giving today all he had. It didn’t matter what people thought as they drove by or that it was a gloomy, rainy morning. It didn’t matter to him. He wanted to wake up with the world at his fingertips.
I don’t know this man or his story, but what I saw grabbed my attention. What would it look like if I chose to play drums on the side of the road with God’s creation as my audience? What would it look like if I chose to write passionately, speak the truth unashamedly, follow my convictions boldly, and loved extravagantly?
Romans 8:15-16 says, “This resurrection life you received from God is not a timid, grave-tending life. It’s adventurously expectant, greeting God with a childlike, ‘What’s next, Papa?’ God’s Spirit touches our spirits & confirms who we really are.”
What if I woke up each day ready for an adventure? What if I lived like I wanted to wake up the world? I think if I truly lived like that guy jamming out in Paynes Prairie, the world couldn’t help but notice.

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