Back in 2015, I was studying abroad in Cape Town, South Africa. While I was there, my grandma and mom made a trip to come and visit. During their stay we went and did so many things that I’ll remember as long as I live, but one day was dedicated totally to climbing Table Mountain. We chose to hike via Platteklip Gorge, an “easy” trail that is about three kilometers of endless switchbacks of steps. 

For three very inexperienced hikers, we very much underestimated the difficulty of the trail. And we were under-prepared. We easily ran out of water about a quarter-way into the hike. As we took frequent breaks– did I mention it was all steps?– we were keeping pace with a man that said he was hiking with his friends, but they all left him behind.

I’ve served as a worship leader for 13 years. It doesn’t feel like that long in my brain, but I started serving on my youth worship team when I was a freshman in high school. Over the years, I’ve served on multiple teams,both in the lead and in the background, at a handful of different churches with lots of different beliefs. There are a lot of different worship songs that spark debate amongst worship teams, especially now that worship songs are going under the microscope in terms of: is this worship to God, or man-centered worship under a problematic theology? One song that seems to be debated more often, I’ve noticed, is “Blessed Be Your Name” by Matt Redman.