My friend and fellow worshiper, Tony Wilcox, recently sent me his response from a year ago when he first heard the song ‘Everything Glorious” by David Crowder. I love it when the lyrics and/or music of a song makes a lasting impact on our lives. It makes me love the song more when I hear how it has impacted someone else. “Everything Glorious” is part of our new iMix and it is part of our worship set on Sunday. Enjoy Tony’s thoughts below, and let’s sing it loudly as we worship together on Sunday.

Bill Born

Everything Glorious? So it’s early fall, 2007 the first time I heard this song, David Crowder’s “Everything Glorious.” I was in my Jeep, driving around who knows where, top down, the air was warm – you know that typical SoCal cool, early fall afternoon. My mind was rattling with the issues of the day. But it has a catchy refrain that I started singing along with… “You make everything glorious, you make everything glorious, you make everything glorious and I am yours.” I liked it right away. An easy to remember chorus that I could relate to . . . at least in a distant sort of way. Doesn’t God make everything glorious? Of course he does . . . (whatever that really means.) Anyway, it sounds biblical enough and it was well, you know . . . sing-able. I forgot the song almost immediately as the rush of the day’s demands swallowed me up. “You make everything . . . ” Huh? Fast forward several weeks later and my heart is in a different place. God has softened it, brought me low in humility . . . the place I need to be to really hear him speak. And here I find myself driving alone in my Jeep again, on the way home after a long, hard day. But this time, there is intention. I pop my iPod into my sound system and tune it to the song I had heard a few weeks back and liked enough to download on iTunes. And the bearded, skinny Texan starts singing again “The day is brighter here with you. The night is lighter than its hue, would lead me to believe, which leads me to believe” And then I smell it. You know, that early autumn scent of burning wood, cool humidity and mown grass. And it smells good. Why do I notice that? I look into the rear view mirror as I round the turn towards home and the jeep kicks up a swaft of orange, green and brown leaves behind me. “You make everything glorious, you make everything glorious, yeah you make everything glorious, and I am yours . . . what does that make me? Yeah, there’s definitely glory in that smell. Where else can you get that smell than this time of year around here? I get it. And then my senses are aroused. If God can make a combination of seasonal smells “glorious,” what else is he doing that with that I’m missing? “My eyes are small but they have seen the beauty of enormous things, which leads me to believe there’s light enough to see” . . . “Enormous things?” Yeah, I guess there are those enormous things that God really does make so glorious. How do I miss them? Like the way my 6 year old smiles at me when I walk through the door in the evening or the way my wife’s beautiful brown eyes light up when she laughs. I love that. That’s glorious in an enormous way. Or the way I hug an old friend and hold on tight that extra second when we haven’t seen each other for a long time just so they know I’ve missed them. Enormous. Wow. You make everything glorious, you make everything glorious, you make everything glorious And I am yours. From glory to glory, from glory to glory, You are glorious, You are glorious! Which leads me to believe why I can believe. You make everything glorious, yeah You make everything glorious, You make everything Glorious and I am Yours. Yeah, it different this time. I feel the cool October air on my face as I look upward into the cloud filled sky and I feel just a few errant rain drops hit me inside the jeep and splatter around. And there are those smells again. Someone’s cozy wood burning fireplace casting off that unforgettable scent of autumn. Is it oak? Orange wood? And the sun is setting behind those smoky clouds and shooting out unbelievable rays of orange and purple and yellow and for just a moment, everything feels . . . well you know . . . Perfect. And I smile and start singing along with Crowder. “You make everything glorious! You make everything glorious! Yeah, you make everything glorious and I am yours!” ~T.D. Wilcox