John and I attended the Music Builds concert last night with some friends. The concert was organized by The Gospel Channel and worked to raise funds for Habitat for Humanity where local chapters benefitted from having the concert come to town.
I had heard of three of the bands that were part of the event, but I wasn't super familiar with their songs. And I certainly was not prepared for the energy and rock concert vibrations that shook my insides like a can of paint. Please keep in mind that the last concert I attended was Andrea Bocelli with my mom. Before that, it was Michael Buble. And a jazzy ballad singer rock out from second tier seating is not quite the same as ROCK rock out from 11th row. Um, very different. Just ask my heart which I am convinced had skipped more than one beat.
My favorite song of the evening was Tunnel by Third Day.
This song reminded me that although there is so much craziness in our lives, there is something beautiful ahead.
In the past few weeks between blogs I have been thinking of was to blog about some of the news that's around me without being an alarmist or just a plain wet blanket. How do I talk about sad or scary things when I just got married and I've set this tone of happiness these past few months? I think this song has helped me realize that I'm only looking at one side of things; that there's more to each story.
The biggest news that's been plaguing my mind is the one I read on a Fleet Feet newsletter. Fleet Feet (http://www.fleetfeetsacramento.com/) is a running shoe store and they're raising funds to support a local athlete. It's not an uncommon practice for a local store to help a local athlete, but this athlete is someone I went to school with, we graduated the same year, and had several classes together. I know her. She's been on TV and won international races. She's a fierce competitor and she's completely sidelined by this cancer. And then of course, it's some aggressive insane cancer that could very well have left this word class pro athlete disabled. A conjecture on my part, but still. The news rocked me (and not in a good way, like the concert). I couldn't imagine that in my early 30's I would know someone in my peer group that would be battling something like this. I have friends and family that are battling serious illness, but they're not in my age bracket. After hearing her news, I checked out her website - www.jamiewhitmore.com and read her blog entries to get the latest. I have spent nights thinking about how hard it must be for her and her family to see her in the hospital and learn how to walk after having a nerve cut. I've seen how painful it is for my brother and his teammates to be sidelined with shin splints and it broke my heart then. What sort of pain must she and her loved ones be feeling?
The good in Jamie's story is that she has extreme support from her family, friends, and fans. Her pro sponsors are still by her side and have not abandoned her while she's not competing. Her blog entries give me this picture of a fighter, one who doesn't quit. And one who knows where her power and strength reside: in Christ. It's sad to read, at times, and yet, so incredibly humbling to see someone go through so much Job-like adversity and still have joy.
On another note, one of my childhood friends is currently teaching in Bolivia. If you're one of those who watches BBC and can somehow navigate away from the bank failure stories on the news sites, you're probably aware of the political situation in Bolivia. But if you're somehow glued to other sorts of news such as the latest Emmy gowns and tv season openers, then you're like me and need to be updated. Essentially, there is some political unrest in the country and the Bolivian president, Evo Morales, believes that the US is backing some sort of coup attempt in response to his desire to do some land redistribution. You can read the latest CNN article here:
http://edition.cnn.com/2008/WORLD/americas/09/23/bolivia.morales/
or you can check out the official Embassy updates here:
http://bolivia.usembassy.gov/index.html
The news article doesn't scare me as much as the Embassy highlights which include cancelled flights by major airlines, government charters out of the country, and warnings to stay inside for days on end. WHAT is going on down there?!? How does my friend, who does not physically blend in, stay safe? Is she safe? Should she leave the country? Can she and would she leave? My friends and I have sent e-mails and watched for her to pop on Facebook and say "Don't worry! It's not as bad as you might think it is." But the silence is deafening and makes us all fearful that she could be in danger. Again, some conjecture on my part, but I can't help my mind wandering to such places. Hopefully, we'll hear from her soon. Maybe BBC or CNN will run a story that could quell our concerns.
Until then, I just have to focus on the tunnel.
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