There are only a handful of contacts on my phone I’ve added photos to. And when Jeff’s picture popped up on a recent Saturday evening, I was excited to get the call.

We became quick friends after meeting nearly 20 years ago and have shared meals, prayers and conversations through some of the highest and lowest points of life during that time. I have several friends who attend the church Jeff pastors just outside town, about 30-miles from my home on the other side of town, and though he’s a good teacher and leader, the drive has always been enough to keep me in a church a little closer to home.

I can honestly say I don’t remember why Jeff called that night. Like any good friend, the conversations typically go down several roads, and we’re more likely to stop when one of us reaches home, work or the checkout line than arrive at the end of the conversation. One thing we share is a particular affection for contemporary Christian music. Not just what’s out today; we often cite bands, songs and artists who found a place in the collective heart of Christian culture across several decades.

On this recent Saturday night, when Jeff called, I had just finished listening to a YouTube recording of an album that took me back to a time shortly after I began my journey with Christ. It was a live album from the group Mylon LeFevre & Broken Heart – a ‘too-many-guitars-to-count’ Christian rock band from the 1980s. At the time, the music drew me in; as a new Christian, rock music spoke to me from a place I understood. But there was something else about the live recording. Somewhere near the end of the concert, the band fell into this simple groove, and Mylon began to speak. In his slow, southern drawl, he talked about the importance of opening and reading the Bible. He continued talking about his relationship with God – a God with whom he had frequent conversations. I may not have realized it at the time, but this would become instrumental in my walk of faith. I had listened to that album – and Mylon’s message – so many times back then that the thought of knowing and becoming so familiar with God by reading His word, praying and listening became a foundation in my life.

As I unfolded that memory for Pastor Jeff in our phone call, I said, “…that’s why it’s so important to tell our story. There’s always someone listening that understands the language.” Not missing a beat, Jeff told me he was getting the men in his church to be more engaged with one another and invited me to speak at an upcoming breakfast.

When the morning came, I left early enough that the sun was in my eyes nearly the whole way. I grew agitated as I squinted to see traffic lights and lane markings, but then, as I turned north and the sun was off to the side, there was a line from a song stuck in my head from church a few days earlier: “Your mercies are new … as surely as the morning comes.” My agitation quickly faded into thankfulness in that moment. God’s goodness and faithfulness have carried me through good and bad times, and it’s still that familiarity I learned when Mylon shared his story in a language I understood, which led me to and keeps me in a place of trusting God through all of it. The transformation continues daily. This is the story I’ll tell.