A Word From David

As the death this week of Beach Boys founding member Brian Wilson reminds me, I am of an age when the artists who created the soundtrack of my youth are joining the ranks of the choir eternal. 

Wilson’s death prompted the sharing on social media of countless tributes and quite a few versions of his songs. My favorite of the latter is a shaky cell-phone video of a high school choir singing God Only Knows. The kid singing the lead solo is Brian Wilson’s granddaughter. It’s lovely and sweet.

It also prompts me to wonder about legacies and what we leave behind. Not many of us will leave behind anything as singularly beautiful as God Only Knows, but we all have it in our power to leave behind things of last importance within our limited spheres and with whatever gifts we have been given.

That’s why our work together with our siblings at Pilgrims this summer matters. We have the opportunity to build something that matters, and that can matter for generations to come. 

The internal squabbles and individual struggles of the Beach Boys have been well chronicled. They were way more messed up than Western or Pilgrims will ever be! Nevertheless, they created songs that have mattered to millions of people for several generations.

Which is to say, despite our struggles, we have it in our hands to work with the Spirit to build something beautiful.

What might we leave behind? God only knows.