I often grab onto a specific thing from reading or studying the Bible. That thing - a particular passage or a piece of a lesson - will stay on my mind for days. Something in one of my recent Bible study sessions left me reflecting on the spiritual realm that exists around us - the angels we may have unwittingly entertained and demons we have been protected from. This stayed on my mind for days and I would just have to stop whatever I was doing to reflect on it for a moment. Sometimes, whatever I am meditating on will touch upon something in my life.
I was posting a review on Being Free the other day and, as I've been doing lately, I attached an INXS "The Stairs" music video at the end. Though it's not a Christian song (and the band's artwork was anything but Christian), it has lyrics that are so true to our everyday lives so I will post it here because it prompted the thought I want to talk about here.
For those who don't know, Hutchence, the vocalist and main songwriter for the band, died at a young age (37) from what most people think was a suicide while others speculate that it was something sordid that I won't mention. He had suffered a traumatic brain injury (TBI) a few years before and it apparently affected his mood and outlook on life. Suicide seems the more plausible cause of death, in my uneducated opinion. He was found deceased and alone in a hotel room in a busy Australian city. It looks as if he hanged himself. I remember hearing the news when it happened back in 1997 and thinking how sad it was.
As you can see from the video, the lyrics are haunting and a cause for reflection. On the video page, another viewer commented on how eerie it was that Hutchence's "Stairs" lyrics were similar to the way he died. I hadn't thought of that before but it's true.
(By the way, you are about to find out that I spent way too much time thinking about the celebrity crushes of my youth...)
Now, because this band was such a huge success back when I was in my thirties - Hutchence would now be about my age - and still keeping up with all things music, fashion, and celebrity, I knew a lot about his public life. For all his charm and politeness, Hutchence seemed to be a very actively sexual womanizer. Women loved him - I and all my friends sure thought he was the hottest thing since Tobasco and would have been thrilled to have five minutes of his attention. He must have been nice to the women in his life because, even after he dumped them, they apparently kept up friendships with him. I never read of any woman badmouthing him. He was still the best of friends with his first serious girlfriend - to the point that she was the last person he called before he died.
I know one more thing about INXS. They, at one early point in their group life, almost became a Christian band. I think that had to do more with someone's idea of potential marketing than with any of the guys' spiritual leanings. I can only speculate. Again, I am in no position to comment on anyone's religious life. So, this is the part where I get back to my meditations on my Bible studies.
As I said, I had been thinking a lot about the unseen spiritual realm - our protections and potential predators. And I thought about all the times, I desired something that was never granted - aka unanswered prayers. Prayers for things I should never have been praying for in the first place.
INXS worked extremely hard and from young ages for their eventual success. It was often reported that Hutchence had from the beginning told his bandmates and family that he had his heart set on "world domination" as a performer. He loved fame and its trappings. ('Trappings'. What a curiously appropriate word in this context, right?) He loved all things sensual - women, food, wine - and he loved being a rockstar. He seemed to have gotten all that he wanted. Answered prayers.
I think about all the things my young and foolish heart prayed for. If I had been given everything my physical self used to want so badly, I don't know what condition my soul would be in now.
I am not making any judgments about Hutchence or anyone else. I don't know what his final moments were like or what last prayers he offered up. I don't know about anyone's soul but my own. I do pray that Hutchence, in his pain and heartache, managed to breathe out some kind of plea to God.
What I am musing on is how thankful I might should be that so many of my foolish prayers were not answered. There have been times when I tried to force the answer I wanted for my life or situation. That has never turned out well. Whenever I have tried to live my life on my strictly human and finite terms, whatever happiness I gain only lasts until it doesn't. And it never lasts forever.
So I know that sometimes when I don't understand why my way to something seems so blocked, there is a reason. I know that God watches over and protects my foolish human self from some of my own desires because He loves me.
If I'd had my way, I would have ended up in a relationship with at least 3 of the worst people I could be with. I actually did end up with the fourth one of those people. Even now, there are times when I don't like the right choice about things and I am tempted to try to find another way - my way. I have mostly learned though that my way usually leads me in the wrong direction. I am learning to pray and listen.
It's been said and sung about before, but the unanswered prayer is often the biggest blessing we can get.
I was posting a review on Being Free the other day and, as I've been doing lately, I attached an INXS "The Stairs" music video at the end. Though it's not a Christian song (and the band's artwork was anything but Christian), it has lyrics that are so true to our everyday lives so I will post it here because it prompted the thought I want to talk about here.
For those who don't know, Hutchence, the vocalist and main songwriter for the band, died at a young age (37) from what most people think was a suicide while others speculate that it was something sordid that I won't mention. He had suffered a traumatic brain injury (TBI) a few years before and it apparently affected his mood and outlook on life. Suicide seems the more plausible cause of death, in my uneducated opinion. He was found deceased and alone in a hotel room in a busy Australian city. It looks as if he hanged himself. I remember hearing the news when it happened back in 1997 and thinking how sad it was.
As you can see from the video, the lyrics are haunting and a cause for reflection. On the video page, another viewer commented on how eerie it was that Hutchence's "Stairs" lyrics were similar to the way he died. I hadn't thought of that before but it's true.
(By the way, you are about to find out that I spent way too much time thinking about the celebrity crushes of my youth...)
Now, because this band was such a huge success back when I was in my thirties - Hutchence would now be about my age - and still keeping up with all things music, fashion, and celebrity, I knew a lot about his public life. For all his charm and politeness, Hutchence seemed to be a very actively sexual womanizer. Women loved him - I and all my friends sure thought he was the hottest thing since Tobasco and would have been thrilled to have five minutes of his attention. He must have been nice to the women in his life because, even after he dumped them, they apparently kept up friendships with him. I never read of any woman badmouthing him. He was still the best of friends with his first serious girlfriend - to the point that she was the last person he called before he died.
I know one more thing about INXS. They, at one early point in their group life, almost became a Christian band. I think that had to do more with someone's idea of potential marketing than with any of the guys' spiritual leanings. I can only speculate. Again, I am in no position to comment on anyone's religious life. So, this is the part where I get back to my meditations on my Bible studies.
As I said, I had been thinking a lot about the unseen spiritual realm - our protections and potential predators. And I thought about all the times, I desired something that was never granted - aka unanswered prayers. Prayers for things I should never have been praying for in the first place.
INXS worked extremely hard and from young ages for their eventual success. It was often reported that Hutchence had from the beginning told his bandmates and family that he had his heart set on "world domination" as a performer. He loved fame and its trappings. ('Trappings'. What a curiously appropriate word in this context, right?) He loved all things sensual - women, food, wine - and he loved being a rockstar. He seemed to have gotten all that he wanted. Answered prayers.
I think about all the things my young and foolish heart prayed for. If I had been given everything my physical self used to want so badly, I don't know what condition my soul would be in now.
I am not making any judgments about Hutchence or anyone else. I don't know what his final moments were like or what last prayers he offered up. I don't know about anyone's soul but my own. I do pray that Hutchence, in his pain and heartache, managed to breathe out some kind of plea to God.
What I am musing on is how thankful I might should be that so many of my foolish prayers were not answered. There have been times when I tried to force the answer I wanted for my life or situation. That has never turned out well. Whenever I have tried to live my life on my strictly human and finite terms, whatever happiness I gain only lasts until it doesn't. And it never lasts forever.
So I know that sometimes when I don't understand why my way to something seems so blocked, there is a reason. I know that God watches over and protects my foolish human self from some of my own desires because He loves me.
If I'd had my way, I would have ended up in a relationship with at least 3 of the worst people I could be with. I actually did end up with the fourth one of those people. Even now, there are times when I don't like the right choice about things and I am tempted to try to find another way - my way. I have mostly learned though that my way usually leads me in the wrong direction. I am learning to pray and listen.
It's been said and sung about before, but the unanswered prayer is often the biggest blessing we can get.
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