When I hear Christian pop artists sing about “losing their keys” and “rips in their jeans,” I’m usually not too impressed.

That was my first impression of Francesca Battistelli.

Fancy name. Bland message.

But I was being prejudiced. Francesca’s style might not be what I prefer, but I know that many people love her music. And even if she is mainstream, a lot of her songs have a good message. So, I’m not bashing her entirely. In fact, my appreciation of her music went up a notch after hearing her song “Write Your Story” while shopping at the mall.

I didn’t recognize it as one of Francesca’s songs at the time, but I could tell that it was a love song written to God. (You just don’t call someone “maker of the stars,” no matter how great they are.)

The chorus caught my ear:

I’m an empty page
I’m an open book
Write Your story on my heart
Come on and make Your mark

Author of my hope
Maker of the stars
Let me be Your work of art
Won’t You write Your story on my heart

As someone who loves to write, the song resonated with me.

The empty page–that is what we are in God’s hands. He washes us of our sins and makes us pure. We are nothing without him.

The open book–that is our lives. We are stories. But we shouldn’t strive to write our stories on our own. We need God to write our stories. We need him to direct our lives.

The work of art–that is what we are in God’s eyes. We are crafted in his image. We are shaped by his hands. A work of art isn’t perfect, but it’s always being perfected.

What greater calling is there than to be God’s work of art? To offer ourselves as empty pages, and let the Author of Hope write His story on our hearts.