One
of the best things about Christmas is the songs – there are so many good
ones! Every year, I seem to find one or
two that grab me – they might be a new version of an old favorite, or one I
hadn’t heard in a while, or maybe had not ever heard.
SO,
imagine my surprise that I have had 3 songs stuck in my head that have almost nothing
to do with Christmas…or do they?? Yes,
this will be one of those posts…but just stick with it till the end and see
where it ends up.
I
really love ALL kinds of music – and often listen to Top 40 hits through a
different filter, trying to find a spiritual aspect to Jay Z or whoever comes
on the radio. Here are the two hits I have in
my head currently:
Unconditionally - Katy Perry. I actually
imagine God singing this song to me and it gives the words a whole new
meaning. A God who sees and knows
EVERYTHING, whether we want Him to or not…yet loves us anyway. "Come just as you are to me...Open up your heart and just let it begin"...really, isn't that all God wants??? A song full of hope! [Katy Perry has quite a few songs that can
easily take a spiritual bent - she is a DOUBLE
PK after all - both of her parents are preachers].
Say
Something - A Great Big World/Christina Aguilera. I think this
is actually THE most depressing song I have ever heard. I hate that it’s on the radio in
December. “I’m giving up on you”. Is there anything worse a person can say, or
be told???? I’d rather have someone say
they hate me than say they have given up on me. SO, no.
I certainly don’t imagine God singing this one. Actually, the message is the polar opposite
of what God’s love is all about. But,
someone wrote this song – and they wrote it from a place of pain, and little
hope. And, there are many who hear this
song and likely feel a connection.
SO,
here enters the 3rd song that I have been listening to a lot – perhaps
technically a Christmas song, but not one of the more traditional ones - and certainly not this presentation of it. It's not short, but it's worth every minute of your time. [not my own discovery, but this was the 1st video my pastor used for an Advent play list that I can not figure out how to include a link to...]
What I love about the message in this recording, is that it acknowledges
the grief and lack of hope that many have, but by the end of the song transforms it into an understanding
of the gift of unconditional love that the season is all about. A understanding that even in the midst of our
grief and turmoil, we have a God that will always love us, and never gives up
on us. And that’s a gift that will
always top the charts.
Wishing you an Advent full of Hope, Peace, Joy and LOVE!
