God's Been Good To Me

Well I can't believe I'm sittin' here today
Picking on my banjo with a big smile on my face
Writin' new words to an old school melody
Hey there ain't no doubt that God's been good to me

Oh the sun is shinin' on down in New Orleans
And right now where I'm right where I wanna be
I've never felt so loved, so peaceful and so free
Hey there ain't no doubt that God's been good to me

'Cause he put me smack dab in the middle of Paradise
In the heart of the city where my dreams have come alive
And everything I have, and everything I see
Is just another reminder that God's been good to me

This golden road's been long
And sometimes I've lost my way
I've been down some darkened detours
Leanin' heavy on my faith
But where the devil had me chained
Lord your love done set me free
Hallelujah! God's been good to me


As I was driving back to Iowa I put in one of my favorite CDs, Keith Urban, and I heard the song above. I have heard this song at least a hundred times before and it was this time that I really listened to the lyrics and realized just how true it was. I drive over the horizon in either direction and into view comes the skyline and I feel like I'm in paradise. I go to the projects where our teams play with kids (above) and I feel like I'm in paradise. Not that there aren't many problems here or many hardships. It's more like, paradise in that I know this is exactly where God wants me. I see those kids and their innocence as they choose a color of sidewalk chalk and I think about all of the possibilities for their lives. I think about how the ministry I am a part of, how God can shape their futures to be full of hope and life.

And yes, the road to get here has been long and at times it has been dark. A life of faith is never easy, but every step along the way, both good and bad, has led me to where I am today. And where it seemed like the devil had me chained "the Lord done set me free!" Never before could I look at life and truly agree with these lyrics, but now, with only a little tweaking on my part, they are almost perfect and I listen to this song as an amazing reminder that God has been good to me.