This song is on my running play list, and whenever it comes on, I feel the urge to blog about it; but by the time I get home, I've either forgotten or get distracted and its hasn't gotten done. But today is that day! It will be blogged about. Take that, short attention span....
"A house and a wife and two and a half.
I lost my dream in the comfort trap....
I told my heart to toe the line.
You had all that time, the rest is mine....
I'm gonna have my cake and eat it too,
And what I don't eat I'm gonna force feed you."
How many times do we get distracted by what we think we should have? Or what we think we're entitled to?
Many have fallen into the comfort trap, and I have fallen in the trap of longing for what I think would be comfort.
"You had all that time, the rest is mine." I feel like that's what I say to God during a rough day. I want it to be my turn, I want to pursue the things I think would make me happy. I want. I want. I want.
But I haven't put my heart on hold, I am doing what I want. What I want is to be in God's will, not so I can escape the fires of hell or earn a reward, but because I have a Savior that I love and I know I am on this earth for a purpose and I don't want to miss that purpose because I wanted the "house and a wife and two and half" that the world makes the end-all-be-all of a person's life.
Do I still want that? Heck yes.
But it can't be the driving force behind my decisions. Its not something I have complete control over (or any control over apparently...) so why not focus on the things that are in front of me, the things that are giving me joy and giving me purpose?
So I do. I coordinate an after-school program that I love. I get to tell girls they are special and have value. Last week, we told the students those exact words, and I passed out a small brightly colored card that said "You are a unique creation, with endless worth; there will never be another you." I asked how many had never been told anything like that before and more than half of them raised their hand. These are 6th grade girls. Eleven year old girls. And no one is telling them they are special.
I could go on a rant about the world, about parents, about babies having babies, but we all know the world is broken. Its broken and it desperately needs its Savior to return and put it back together, to put us back together.
I will still have terrible days when I just want a family of my own, a house of my own, even a couch of my own. But when I am faced with precious, broken children, I can put that behind me and focus on whats in front of me. On who's in front of me. On Who is walking alongside me each and every step.
We have been tasked with changing this world. I refuse to fall into the comfort trap. You should refuse to fall into the comfort trap.
You should also listen to this song. Comfort Trap by House of Heroes. And listen to all their stuff while you're at it, they're amazing. Particularly "If," "Serial Sleepers," (and enjoy the super dated music video for that...what-up 2005!) and "By Your Side." Did I tell you about the time I met the drummer, Colin Rigsby, at a Relient K show? They weren't playing there, he was literally just attending the concert. Here's how our conversation went: Setting: exit hallway of small venue in Columbus. Colin is standing against the wall as I walk by. I see him as I pass (I'm in italics): "HI!" "Hi." "Hi!" "(Chuckle) Hi." Silence. "I'm a big fan!" "Thanks." More silence. End scene. Yup. That's how I interact with spontaneous celebrities. Also, with men.
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