From the recording Touch the Flame
In the mid-90's I met a young man named Josh and gave him some rudimentary guitar lessons. We then had the opportunity to share our music together at a local parish for their RCIA program. As I got to know him, I could see Josh really looking to deepen his relationship with Jesus Christ while at the same time struggling with his identity as a teen. This song came out of our journey together. I shared the song with a dear friend, Rich Mazzara, and he like the song so much he had me record it. He used it at high school retreats for many, many years and even referred to it as the "quintessential teen song". It later was chosen to be the title song of my debut CD.
Lyrics
Sometimes I wake up in the night
And I sit and wonder about who I am
Oh these questions that haunt my mind
The doubts, the fears,
Can't hide the tears inside
And sometimes when I wake up in the morning
And I have to face yet another day
I want to tear down these walls of mine
And throw away this mask for just one day
Touch the flame, feel the love
Of a mighty God, a mighty Lord
And touch the flame, feel the love
Called by name, never be the same
Jesus, sometimes I have to wonder
Do You really hear me? Do You know my name?
It's so hard to understand
How one like You, could love someone like me
And Jesus, I really want to know You
Just like You seem to know me for who I am
So many voices they take me away
But still I try to find the road
That leads to You
And touch the flame, feel the love
Of a mighty God, a mighty Lord
And touch the flame, feel the love
Called by name, never be the same
Touch the flame
So I try to find the answers
As I stumble through the darkness
Of a lonely world where the
Laughter comes and the anger grows
But the pain I feel is oh so real
So I try to be what "they" want me to be
But then I realize my hopes and dreams
Are just an echo of everything I've lost
So I try to run I try to hide
But the more I try the more I find that
These prison walls I cannot climb
I'm tired of all the lonely nights
I'm tired of empty promises
And I know there's got to be a better way
So break these chains and set me free
I need You, I need You, I need You, my Lord!
Touch the flame, feel the love
Of a mighty God, a mighty Lord
Touch the flame, feel the love
Always called by name, never be the same
Touch the flame
Touch the flame
Touch the flame
Touch the flame