I'm going to be real honest, when Taylor Swift first came on the scene, I was not a fan. Maybe it was the teenage anthems she sang or the gag-me-with-a-spoon-over-the-top mushiness of it all. Either way, it was not for me. In 2011, however, something changed....I was slowly becoming a fan and even bought her album "Speechless" which I found to be both inspiring and thoughtfully written. While this is not an official artist or album review, her most recent two albums are highly energetic positive pop icons as well, check them out. One is called "Red" and the other "1989" (the year she was born.) Maybe that is why she is so optimistic, she is from the generation labeled a "millennial" and millennials(18-33 year olds) seem to have a shiny outlook on life, a more fresh approach to the future, full of anxious anticipation. Taylor's passion for life encompasses all that she does and all that she is....and that is a very good thing. You see, in this crazy world of headlines citing beheadings, car bombings and riots....Taylor Swift still has a sense of childlike optimism. As you get older (And by no means do I think 35 is old, oops I spilled the beans!) you are tainted by more and more bad news, past failures, bad experiences and wisdom, yes wisdom. Even King Solomon said in Ecclesiastes that Wisdom can rob your joy. You say you will never been hardened or wrecked by all that goes on in the world but inevitably you are affected and not in the most positive ways.
So where do the Cat Videos come in? (Yes, I know Taylor Swift likes cats too) My wife and I have been watching funny cat videos on YouTube as a way of unwinding our days which provides comic relief amidst all the stress and responsibilities we have with three kids, two dogs and plenty of bills. There have been a plethora of belly laughs and all out cheek-throbbing hilarity from these viewings. Some short, some long but all full of endorphin boosting joy. But not only joy, hope for tomorrow. As followers of Jesus, we often tout Bible verses that deal with hope in the context of our eternal destination in heaven but we seldom realize that God has promised hope not only in eternity with Him but in the here, right now as we abide in Him. Sometimes this comes in the form of hand-raised-high-worship, sometimes in verses of scripture, other times in a long anticipated vacation or visit from a friend. It's the patient anticipation of something bigger, brighter and better. This year, my theme verse is Isaiah 40:31, yeah, yeah I know....one of those verses printed on coffee mugs, graduation frames and wall-mounted flip calendars. It reads: "Those that hope in the Lord will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles. They will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint." There are so many things in which we can hope....we hope that we have enough money to pay our bills...we hope that our children will get good grades and go to a good college on scholarship....we hope that we will be able to retire at 65...we hope to someday take a trip to Italy...we hope we pass the exam....we hope we live a long time....we hope and we wait. Sometimes waiting is the hardest part, hoping is easy. Waiting is not. I'm not a very patient person by nature but God is teaching me to resist living life at 90 miles an hour and doing everything myself, controlling every detail and accomplishing goals on my own. Instead, be available for His timing and His will to be shown. As a doer, producer, Type A personality, this is very difficult but I've seen the benefits of waiting. My mom(Momo to her grandkids) and I have the same personality and she recently made a surprising comment. She said, "I realized that I walk too fast and other people, they don't walk this fast and still get stuff done." (Pause for dramatic reflection...ahhhh) That hit me like a ton of bricks....so true though! Hoping means waiting but also produces joy.
What I love most about the Cat Videos and the Taylor Swift Music Videos is that all of these display a hopeful optimism. Regarding cats, cats don't really freak out when something strange comes in the house like a new baby or a dog. They are patient, they are smart and they are hopeful. By all means, they should be up a tree, a big tree, but they often just lay and wait...waiting to see what happens. My mom often describes people as a "Garfield" (a cat) or an "Odie" (a dog) from the famous Garfield comic strip. She says she is an "Odie" (high strung, hyper, type-A, ADD, in a hurry) and my dad is a "Garfield" (calm, cool, collective, mellow, chill, patient, not in a hurry). No matter if you are a "Garfield" or "Odie" personality or somewhere in between, we can all appreciate one who is patient and hopefully waits that things are going to be okay. Someone once said, "It's usually not as bad as it seems and it it's usually not as good as it seems...it's probably somewhere in the middle." Being hopeful is more than just being patient. It's also having a sense of wonder and optimism, paging Ms. Swift once more. Her music, persona, concerts, videos, blogs, tweets all have a sense of wonder, optimism, realness & gratefulness that is hard to manufacturer because it flows naturally. Notice that the people mentioned in verse 31 says that those who hope in the Lord shall do first, renew their strength. You can only renew your strength if you rest and are patient, allow God to renew your strength in Him alone. It also says that you shall mount up on wings like Eagles, talk about wonder and optimism! It goes on to say that they run and not grow weary. Have you ever been weary? I have and it sucks. I don't recommend to anyone. But if you hope in the Lord, your strength is renewed so you can run and not be weary. You won't get tired. As Paul says, you will run the race that Christ has marked out for us and you shall have all the strength you need, that is, if you are running the race for Christ. If you run for anyone or anything else, you will get weary, you will stumble, you will quit and it won't be a sustaining or satisfying. Not only will you run, you will also walk and not grow faint. After running a race, an athlete will often times collapse because of exhaustion. Isaiah implies that even after running a marathon, you will still be able to walk and not only walk but not be faint. How about that for a promise?
Our part is simple, we must place our trust and our hope in the Lord. Not in our own ability, not in other people's expectations, not in what the world says is the best way and not what our friends or families say is the smartest path or destination. We must hope and trust and be led by the Lord, then we will be calm, we will be optimistic, we will be filled with wonder and we will know that we will, not might or possibly but we ABSOLUTELY will have hope for tomorrow. Now pardon me, while I finish this new video I found of Taylor Swift with her cats.... #hope
