Scenes of a memory

Kanye West. Jesus Walks.

We at war
We at war with terrorism, racism, and most of all we at war with ourselves
(Jesus Walks)
God show me the way because the Devil trying to break me down
(Jesus Walks with me) with me with me with me…

You know what the Midwest is?
Young & Restless
Where restless Niggaz might snatch your necklace
And next these Niggaz might jack your Lexus
Somebody tell these Niggaz who Kanye West is
I walk through the valley where the shadow of death is
Top floor the view alone will leave you breathless Uhhhh!
Try to catch it Uhhhh! It’s kinda hard hard
Getting choked by the detectives yeah yeah now check the method
They be asking us questions, harass and arrest us
Saying "we eat pieces of shit like you for breakfast"
Huh? Yall eat pieces of shit? What’s the basis?
We ain’t going nowhere but got suits and cases
A trunk full of coke rental car from Avis
My momma used to say only Jesus can save us
Well momma I know I act a fool
But I’ll be gone til November I got packs to move I Hope

(Jesus Walks)
God show me the way because the Devil trying to break me down
(Jesus Walks with me)
The only thing that I pray is that me feet don’t fail me now
(Jesus Walks)
And I don’t think there is nothing I can do now to right my wrongs
(Jesus Walks with me)
I want to talk to God but I’m afraid because we ain’t spoke in so long

(Jesus Walks)
God show me the way because the Devil trying to break me down
(Jesus Walks with me)
The only thing that I pray is that me feet don’t fail me now
(Jesus Walks)
And I don’t think there is nothing I can do now to right my wrongs
(Jesus Walks with me)
I want to talk to God but I’m afraid because we ain’t spoke in so long

To the hustlas, killers, murderers, drug dealers even the strippers
To the victims of Welfare for we living in hell here hell yeah
Now hear ye hear ye want to see Thee more clearly
I know he hear me when my feet get weary
Cuz we’re the almost nearly extinct
We rappers are role models we rap we don’t think
I ain’t here to argue about his facial features
Or here to convert atheists into believers
I’m just trying to say the way school need teachers
The way Kathie Lee needed Regis that’s the way yall need Jesus
So here go my single dog radio needs this
They say you can rap about anything except for Jesus
That means guns, sex, lies, video tapes
But if I talk about God my record won’t get played Huh?
Well let this take away from my spins
Which will probably take away from my ends
Then I hope this take away from my sins
And bring the day that I’m dreaming about
Next time I’m in the club everybody screaming out

(Jesus Walks)
God show me the way because the devil trying to break me down
(Jesus Walks with me)
The only thing that I pray is that me feet don’t fail me now

Sometimes you end a day with regret over what you’ve done or what you’ve said. It can even end in tears as you find that even though you’ve tried hard, you still make mistakes. All that you have left is to face the night and try to sleep. You sleep with a hope in your heart that in the morning there will be a chance to fix things, to make up, to start a new step, to keep going.

When you open your eyes to the morning sun and feel the cool morning breeze, you start to see that God always gives you another chance. Before you know it, you find yourself walking on the beach, listening to the waves. You start to smile again, to pick yourself up, to keep trying to be a better person. As you keep walking, you see and meet things that you’ve never seen before. It’s as if life keeps telling, "Hey, keep going, there’s so much more that you haven’t seen!" These new things don’t have to be big grand things, but small things that remind you that nature, and life itself, shows its grandeur even in the trivial everyday things; sea shells on the beach, the mark of your footprints on the sand, the seaweed that grows on small rocks at the beach, ships going out to sea yet quickly coming back into port (did they forget something? was it just to warm up the ship?), the sound of the breaking waves, the way the water feels (cold, refreshing), the strange patterns of bird footprints on the sand (they seem to like to go in circles). The quiet and empty Keizerstraat gives you a peaceful feeling as you walk through yet surprisingly you find new stores that you haven’t seen before (a pet store!). Simple things such as eating freshly baked croissants and free coffee at Albert Heijn feels so good. Finally, on the walk home you find things that Dutch people throw away which you can still use. So many new things in just a few hours on a quiet summer day!

So next time you find yourself feeling down or regretting what you’ve done, just pray and go to sleep. You will always have the next morning. Wake up early, take a walk and you’ll start to appreciate all the many things (big and small) that are around you. In the end, the thing that you will appreciate most will be the wonderful smile of the person you love.