I believe it was early in my junior year at Virginia Tech that Daniel’s family moved. It wasn’t a far move, still within town. I don’t quite remember how the house came to get its name, but somewhere along the way Daniel’s mom Lesa called it The Lighthouse. It was a fitting title.
By the time I was a junior in college, the lives of all of us who were in that youth group at Third Avenue Congregational Church had changed significantly. Gone was the innocence and youthful exuberance that seemed to permeate and surround the group and the lives of all of us who were a part of it. Some had left the faith. Some had fallen on difficult times, often of their own choosing and making. Life had just gotten us is the way to simply describe it.
Yet, for a few of us, we found ourselves right back at the Shelton’s home. Life was very different for all of us, but the comfort and care of Dan and Lesa was still there. When I came home from school for breaks or weekends, I usually made at least one stop by The Lighthouse. And the summer of 2003 when I was back home working one last summer for Newcomb Carpet, it was where I hung out most of the time. More often than not, there were others at the house as well besides the Shelton family. It was a refuge. A place where you were known and loved, where you were free to wrestle with what you believed, where you would be prayed over and for, where the heart of Jesus was real.
I now have a 9-year-old and a 4-year-old. As I think back to the times I spent with Dan and Lesa and their family, I turn to what the next few years will hold for me and my sons. First, I hope that I can be as encouraging and loving to them as Dan and Lesa were to their kids. I’m sure they made mistakes along the way – they are human after all. But they loved their kids and they loved each other well. I pray the same will be said of me and Mary. Second, I hope that our kids and their friends will view our home the same way I viewed The Lighthouse. I really do hope it’s a place they feel free to hang out. Elijah is learning how to play the drums, and both boys seem to be musically inclined. I would love it if our house is where the band or bands practice and spend most of their time. Lastly, I hope that all of that comes true so that the Light of Jesus shines through me to my family and our neighbors.
This was an important song to me to include on the record because I felt it tied the story of all of the songs together. Cycling through the record for these posts, I realized how similar this song feels to “I Want To Know You”. In a similar vein, it’s an Andrew Peterson nod with a bit of David Wilcox too. But the song is too long. I also feel like the melody is too similar to “I Want To Know You”. But it meant a lot to me, and it took on even more importance after Daniel died.
The production on this one was very basic. I think we missed the dynamics a bit between the guitar part and the percussion. I also don’t know why I had such a propensity for doubling intro and turn progressions. It takes away from this song to me. There is a lot more than can be done with this song, something I may revisit in the future. But I will leave you with what is on the record. Let me know what you think about the story and the album version of “The Lighthouse”!
