This past week, I got to see my favorite band, Switchfoot, live in concert with three friends. It was beyond fantastic. It was a surprisingly small venue, so we were pretty close, so close that when lead singer Jon Foreman went into the crowd, we got to touch him. I got to touch him. (insert fangirl scream) I’m pretty sure that there was also a moment that I was standing right in front of him and awkwardly trying to get out of the way as he was making his way back to the stage. Never thought I’d be within touching distance of band that awesome. I mean, we didn’t pay for VIP passes.
Despite my unfounded nightmares in the week before that the concert was really lame, it was everything but that. Relient K played before Switchfoot and they were good. Fun time with some classics (Sadie Hawkins Dance) and catchy new songs (Mountaintop). And then Switchfoot came out and they were amazing. They played most of my favorite songs, surprising me with “If the House Burns Down.” The only omission was “Hope is the Anthem,” but I played that on the way home. Add fog, confetti, bubbles, awesome lights, inspirational speeches. Most bands I’ve seen succumb to a “one more song,” but they ended so well they didn’t need it. Concert on a schoolnight? $50 tickets? With awesome friends? So worth it. Probably a highlight of 2017.
One dark blot on my fantastic evening though:
My stomach was in small amounts of crampy pain throughout the whole concert.
Most likely caused by the stress of leaving behind a ton of unfinished schoolwork, sitting through 5PM traffic that doubled what should have been a half hour drive, wondering if we’d get there in time. (We did. Doors open about an hour before the thing actually starts.) The last thing I can remember that gave me stomach cramps like that was an organic chemistry final. Long story short, the pain never went away. I kept hoping it would go away, but it stayed, from the doors opening, through Relient K, through Switchfoot, even on the drive home. An unfortunate affliction indeed. Quite annoying during all the waiting for the show to start. But it didn’t completely ruin my night.
Once Matt Thiesen of Relient K emerged on stage and the show began, the pain began to fade into the background of my conscience. I danced to distract myself. Then when Switchfoot emerged, nothing else mattered. It was great. I sang along at the top of my lungs. My soul felt alive in the bass and the guitar riffs, even if part of my body was dying a little. Looking back on the night, I remember the cramps as merely a background detail of the evening. I remember encountering Jon Foreman, and getting to hear my favorite songs live.
All that to say, I was reminded of the chorus of the hymn “Turn Your Eyes Upon Jesus”:
Turn your eyes upon Jesus,
Look full in His wonderful face,
And the things of earth will grow strangely dim,
In the light of His glory and grace.
Not that Jon Foreman is Jesus, or that we should be worshiping him, as tempting as it is to idolize our favorite musicians. But perhaps my evening can be a metaphor for life in this world. Jesus tells us, “in this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.” (John 16:33) The pain of life doesn’t go away. But when our attention is enraptured by Him, the pain fades into the background of our consciousness. It’s insignificant in the light of His significance.
a cup of kimitea 