Music Therapy

"out of the mouths of Babes." Isn't that what they say? Well, my baby is 13, and I'm always getting wisdom from him (or wise guy comments). He's the one who has dreaded the day when we would have to move. As a Methodist pastor's son he knew it was inevidable but hoped it wouldn't happen anyway. We had a good run - 14 years in one place, his whole life so far. When we got the news he was very angry, and started off with "I hate this", "this is stupid", "you can't make me move" etc. But he quickly adjusted to the idea and has had a pretty laid back reaction to the months of chaos and transition, typical of his cheerful, mellow disposition. We didn't realize what was going on in his mind until he told us what song he wanted playing while we drove away for the last time: "Let's See How Far We've Come" by Matchbox 20. An upbeat song with a pretty positive message, we thought, until we listened to it again. So here's what he's really thinking:

I'm waking up at the start of the end of the world,
But its feeling just like every other morning before,
Now i wonder what my life is going to mean if it's gone,
The cars are moving like a half a mile an hour if that
And I started staring at the passengers who're waving goodbye
Can you tell me what was ever really special about me all this time?

But i believe the world is burning to the ground
Oh well i guess we're gonna find out
Let's see how far we've come Let's see how far we've come
Well I, believe, it all, is coming to an end
Oh well, i guess, we're gonna pretend,
Let's see how far we've come Let's see how far we've come

I think it turned ten o'clock but i don't really know
Then i can't remember caring for an hour or so
Started crying and i couldn't stop myself
I started running but there's no where to run to
I sat down on the street and took a look at myself
Said where you going man you know the world is headed for hell
Say your goodbyes if you've got someone you can say goodbye to

I believe the world is burning to the ground
Oh well i guess we're gonna find out
Let's see how far we've come Let's see how far we've come
Well I, believe, it all, is coming to an end
Oh well, i guess, we're gonna pretend,
Let's see how far we've come Let's see how far we've come

Its gone gone baby its all gone
There is no one on the corner and there's no one at home
It was cool cool, it was just all cool
Now it's over for me and it's over for you

But i believe the world is burning to the ground
Oh well i guess we're gonna find out
Let's see how far we've comeLet's see how far we've come
Well I, believe, it all, is coming to an end
Oh well, i guess, we're gonna pretend,
Let's see how far we've come [X9]

So we will blast this song as we are driving out of town, and we'll listen to Rob Thomas sing the grief and fear that we can't express. And then maybe we will play praise songs the rest of the way as we drive into the future that God has prepared for us.