Twenty-Four

Today I’m turning twenty-four years old.

More so than any other day, my birthday is the one day each year that I spend some time looking back at the past year and what I’ve accomplished or not accomplished.  The truth is, I’ll never accomplish everything that captures my heart or succeed at everything that occupies a moment of my time.  I can look back and be proud of what I’ve done and at the same time think about how to make the next year even better.

I’ll have plenty of time to contemplate life as a twenty-four-year-old, since I’m on the road today traveling to a plant for work, so I’ll finish this thought with the words that someone else wrote on the eve of his twenty-fourth birthday:

Twenty four oceans
Twenty four skies
Twenty four failures
Twenty four tries
Twenty four finds me
In twenty-fourth place
Twenty four drop outs
At the end of the day
Life is not what I thought it was
Twenty four hours ago

Still I’m singing Spirit take me up in arms with You
And I’m not who I thought I was twenty four hours ago
Still I’m singing Spirit take me up in arms with You

Twenty four reasons to admit that I’m wrong
With all my excuses still twenty four strong

See I’m not copping out not copping out not copping out
When You’re raising the dead in me
Oh, oh I am the second man
Oh, oh I am the second man now
Oh, oh I am the second man now

And You’re raising these twenty four voices
With twenty four hearts
With all of my symphonies
In twenty four parts
But I wan to be one today
Centered and true

I’m singing Spirit take me up in arms with You
You’re raising the dead in me
Oh, oh I am the second man
Oh, oh I am the second man now
Oh, oh I am the second man now
And You’re raising the dead in me

I want to see miracles, see the world change
Wrestled the angel, for more than a name
For more than a feeling
For more than a cause
I’m singing Spirit take me up in arms with You
And You’re raising the dead in me
Twenty four voices
With twenty four hearts
With all of my symphonies
In twenty four parts.
I’m not copping out. Not copping out. Not copping out.

Here’s to another year of not copping out.

Lyrics written by Jon Foreman.  From the Switchfoot song “Twenty-Four” on the album The Beautiful Letdown.