Monday, July 27, 2015

Confessions of a closet ______ Fan...



To bring everyone up to speed…a little over 3 months ago I left my position in Children’s Ministry. Part of the reason I left was God was calling me to a season of rest. Well if you know me rest is not something I do easily. I like to be busy…I like to be doing things. Since I was eighteen years old I have been working 40+ hours a week, sometimes at multiple jobs.  Going from full speed to stop is not something I have enjoyed at all. There were moments of depression as well as moments of hearing God speaking. (And yes I know "resting" isn't just sitting around doing nothing, but its not being active like I'm used to) We did enjoy a three week family vacation visiting family and friends in PA, Ohio and Michigan. (with hopes of more traveling this summer and fall).

I have also done a few things that I’m not totally proud of, so allow me this time to confess…in the last few weeks I have watched all six seasons of…(wait for it)…Glee!  Yes I admit it, I’m a closet Glee fan. Now some of you probably aren’t too surprised to hear this since you know of my love for Broadway Musicals.  The first time I watched the show, when it first aired, I didn’t like it. But in my, “stuck at home without a job” rut I started watching it one night on Netflix and I couldn’t stop.   As cheesy as it can be at times I have to admit it has some good writers and some wonderfully talented actors. (The way I judge if an actor or show is good or not is how quickly I feel like I have become a part of the show). I have to say I learned a great deal from the show as well. By the way, this is not a debate on if the show has good moral ethics. I already admitted watching it and knowing it wasn’t the best morality show out there, however I did learn from it. (Romans 8:28)

The show is all about following your dreams. It focuses a lot on not just following your dreams in life, but also believing in who you are! (Again I’m not here to debate the moral ethics of the show). But after watching the show I really believe it is important to follow your dreams.

One of my favorite characters in the show is William Schuester, the Glee Club Coach. He reminds me a lot of one of my teachers in high school, DeAnne Casteel, not just because they share a love for the arts but because DeAnne also had this knack of pulling the “outcast” out of their shell and helping them to shine and to always follow their dreams.

Throughout the entire show, Mr. Schu, as the kids call him, is always fighting for the kids, helping them with their problems and teaching them to be themselves and to follow their dreams. There is one particular scene that stuck with me from season six where Mr. Schu is helping Rachel, a former glee club student who failed as a television star and now has come back home to find her parents are divorcing and selling her childhood house – she feels like her world is coming down around here. Mr. Schu, shares what I feel is some good advice for facing lifes’ challenges. He compares life with a bow and arrow and says;
The power is created by the bending of the bow. The more the bow bends the more potential energy is created. Life’s challenges are just the bending of the bow. The bigger the challenge, the more the bow bends the more potential you create to do something amazing.  All you have to do is find a purpose- find the arrow that you’re gonna put in that bow.”

I love this advice, especially in my current “challenge” in life.  As I mentioned before I have worked full time and multiple jobs for many years of my life. To go from all to nothing has been a challenge. To say that I love my new life of not working would be a lie. I know God has called me to a season of rest but I’m not even sure what that is supposed to look like or how to do it. Most days it is a challenge just to face the day and figure out what I’m supposed to do, but I know that through this challenge God has amazing things in store for me. So when the enemy comes in and tries to steal my joy, or speak lies to me, I need to remember that God has bigger and better things in store for me – I just need to rest and wait on him.

I have other lessons I have learned from Glee and will share them with you at another time… for now I’m going to go sing a song and make myself feel better!
Just my thoughts – hope you found a nugget in there somewhere.



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