On the way home from church last night, I asked my 8th grader, Will, all the normal youth group questions: "How was the message? What songs did you sing?" After chatting a bit, he asked me what my favorite song was when I was in 8th grade.
This Gen X mom's mind went instantly to the last year of the 1980’s when hair bands ruled and when winning a Metallica shirt at the county fair was the highlight of the summer.
I searched for the first song I could think of--one that embraced all of it, loud electric guitars and a youth chant that smelled of rebellion by a group called Skid Row.
Will asked if he could hear it, and I granted his request with the volume turned up even louder than my normal loud. My car filled with chaotic noise that reminded me of summer, best friends, and my awesome boom box with detachable speakers and a double cassette deck; don't forget the cool carnival t-shirt with Lady Justice on the front.
My kids sitting in the back seat were slightly appalled because they know one of my mom quotes is this: "[the songs are] not played on KTIS, I've never heard of them."
After the three minutes of torture were over for my kids (because obviously I had to screech along with Sebastian Bach), I giggled and then had an epiphany all at once.
I asked them if they wanted to hear my favorite song as a ninth grader. Reluctantly, they agreed to three more minutes of whatever unknown nonsense was about to assault their ear drums.
I searched "Friends" by Michael W. Smith, and a piano solo that sounded almost like a lullaby started to immediately play. The backseat roared with laughter, and all Will could say was, "What?"
We sat in our driveway, and I held them hostage until we got to the chorus: "and friends are friends forever if the Lord's the Lord of them. . ."
I turned to the kids and asked, "Do you know what happened to me between 8th and 9th grade that these two songs are so different? Jesus got a hold of my heart, and I grabbed on ….clinging for dear life."
I went on to explain that by having Jesus in our lives, we can count on our hearts to feel more like the second song with words like love, strength, peace, and joy; these things will fill our spirits with calm and beauty instead of loud, worldly chaos.
And isn't that the truth? I don't want my kids to (always) look through rose-colored glasses. They know that in life, there will be days that feel like heavy metal is blasting in our brains, and we feel like we can't find our way out of our own thoughts or cannot calm the noise that the world is throwing at us. We know as believers that not every day is a Garden of Eden existence.
However, in that moment in the car with my kids, the image of a life following God verses a soundtrack that uses words and phrases like "misfit," "problem-child," and "burned out," was shall I say, loud and clear.
A life spent pressing into the Word, being into church, actively praying, worshiping our Lord, being in-tuned, and listening to the Holy Spirit helps us to recognize when the channel needs to be changed.
Changing the station of life when the noise is unbearable will allow Jesus to enter in so that we feel hope, contentment, peace, and joy.
Being dialed in to the path Christ wants us to be on will veer us away from the messages that get screeched at us which are untruths and are not the teachings of the gospel. When the noise is quieted, we can focus on the right things. When chaos takes a back seat, maybe we'll have opportunities to notice those around us.
Maybe we can chat with that person over a chai latte at the coffee shop "because a lifetime's not too long-to live as friends."
