Marcus Redding's iPod

It was Eddie’s idea. Lauren’s brother Eddie. When Lauren was helping Marcus turn back to God. Eddie wanted to help his future brother-in-law. So he bought him an iPod.

From the day after the accident until the day he met Lauren, Marcus was filled with self-hatred. He was responsible for the death of his best friend and he himself had survived. Guilt overwhelmed him. And he acted in ways that reflected how he felt about himself. He got on motorcycles and drove really fast. He bought beer and drank a lot of it. He said hello to a girl one night and said goodbye to her the next morning. He listened to music with lyrics that would have made his mom faint. He hurt others. He hurt himself. All because he was hurt, with an incurable guilty wound, infected by sin.

When Lauren was first getting to know Marcus she would call Eddie for advice. She liked Marcus but she refused to date him until he had repented and been sober for at least six months. (She told Marcus as much. It motivated him to change.) But in the meantime, how could she help him? Eddie had an idea. He read the first verses of Colossians to his sister, “’If then you have been raised with Christ, seek the things that are above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. Set your minds on things that are above, not on things that are on earth.’ He’s set his minds on earthly things for so long, he needs to push that stuff out and replace it with the things above. I’m going to buy him an iPod. I’ll fill it with spiritual songs and scripture and good sermons. Tell him to throw away all his other music and just listen to this for the next six months.”

So for the next week Eddie spent his nights scouring iTunes for the most spiritual songs. He visited hundreds of church websites to find Eddie the best sermons. He downloaded a Bible. He got out his label maker, typed in “Colossians 3:1-2,” printed it out, and stuck it on the back of the iPod. He gave it to Lauren after the Sunday evening worship service.

On Monday morning, Lauren met Marcus next to Wagstaff Gym. She gave him the iPod and explained Eddie’s idea. Marcus raised his eyebrows, “Throw away all my other music?” Lauren looked him straight in the eye, “All of it.” Marcus could see she was serious. He sighed, “I’ll do it for you.” Lauren held his gaze, “Do it for God.”

Marcus was good on his word. The garbage sack was heavy with his old CDs when he chunked it in the dumpster “with the rest of the garbage,” he thought. And for the next six months—partly for Lauren, partly for God—he listened to Eddie’s iPod: on the way to work, on his lunch break, making deliveries, hanging out at his apartment. Every time he had a free minute or two. It set his mind on things above.

He got a lot from the sermons. He liked listening to James, and the Psalms, and Habakkuk. But he always came back to one song, “Draw Me Close.”

Draw me close to you, Never let me go
I lay it all down again, To hear you say that I'm your friend
You are my desire, No one else will do
Nothing else can take your place, To feel the warmth of your embrace
Help me find the way, Bring me back to you

You're all I want, You're all I've ever needed
You're all I want, Help me know you are near

More about Marcus Redding’s journey of faith next week.