"Walking along the high tide line, watchin the pacific from the sideline..."
These are the opening words to a beautiful song called Vice Verses by Switchfoot. The song is an illustration of the ups and downs of life. Much like the ocean, there are times when the surf is rough and you don't want to be on it, and then there's times when you're just enjoying the waves. Then there's the times when the hurricane runs through. You hope it will end, question "why me?" and think that life is over.
"Where is God in the city life,
Where is God in the city light,
Where is God in the earthquake,
Were is God in the Genocide.
Where are you in my broken heart, when everything seems to fall apart,
Everything feels rusted over,
Tell me that you're here!"
That's the third verse of the song. Jon Foreman must have gone through some rough stuff to have written that. I know that I was at that point this past year. The breaking point where you think you can't handle it. Where the board is displaying the signs of wear. The surf is overpowering. You know you're gonna die. I've been there.
"I know that there's a meaning to it all.
A little resurrection every time I fall.
You got your babies, I got my hearses,
Every blessing comes with a set of curses.
I got my vices, I got my vice verses."
Then comes hope. You know that God is still going to use this event or situation to do good. Whether that be a suicidal friend, car accident that causes you to be late for work, you get fired from the job BECAUSE you were late, or something else, be hopeful in this: Isaiah 41:13 "For I am the LORD your God. I take hold of your right hand and say to you, 'do not fear. I will help you.'" God's not going to abandon us when the tough gets going. That's example enough. God saying HIMSELF that he will help.
There's something about hope that people question. Maybe sometimes we hope we hope for too much. Too little. When all else is lost, cling for dear life to hope.
When asked if the road he travels is worth the pain it causes, Jon Foreman says "I have the best job in the world." But the question caused him to think about the pains of life and the joys of life. The Vices and the Verses. He describes the contradictions of life; "Every man is equal" in a country of racial tension, killing someone is punishable by death but honorable through war, serving a God who loves the poor in big and rich churches. The tension of it all is enough to drive one insane. Yet, "the strings of our hearts were not made for safety. They were made to dance." And dance they do. "The transcendent alone can give meaning to the tension, purpose to the release." In some of the music classes I've been taking, I learned what a difference one note can make in the release of tension in a chord. From playing an Em chord on the ukulele to switching one finger two frets down to Gmaj, to laying across my bed after a long day of frustrating classes, we as humankind search for release. But we're all "stretched thin" as Jon Foreman describes it. We trudge along from depression to hope, "dancing through the storm."
We should continue to hope. Continue to live on, through the struggles and pain. If you are reading this, please continue to hope in life. As Foreman puts it, "for now, I'm gonna sing. I'm gonna string up my guitar and let those strings dance, stretched thin. It's true one day those strings will snap. But for now string 'em up, let 'em ring." Continue to dance my friends, dance like there's no tomorrow. Continue to play your music. Continue to surf those waves.
"...Let's go boys, play it loud."
That's my thoughts on the song guys, sorry if it's kinda scatterbrained and doesn't make sense.
references pulled from: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/jon-foreman/vice-verses-making-art-ou_b_974302.html
These are the opening words to a beautiful song called Vice Verses by Switchfoot. The song is an illustration of the ups and downs of life. Much like the ocean, there are times when the surf is rough and you don't want to be on it, and then there's times when you're just enjoying the waves. Then there's the times when the hurricane runs through. You hope it will end, question "why me?" and think that life is over.
"Where is God in the city life,
Where is God in the city light,
Where is God in the earthquake,
Were is God in the Genocide.
Where are you in my broken heart, when everything seems to fall apart,
Everything feels rusted over,
Tell me that you're here!"
That's the third verse of the song. Jon Foreman must have gone through some rough stuff to have written that. I know that I was at that point this past year. The breaking point where you think you can't handle it. Where the board is displaying the signs of wear. The surf is overpowering. You know you're gonna die. I've been there.
"I know that there's a meaning to it all.
A little resurrection every time I fall.
You got your babies, I got my hearses,
Every blessing comes with a set of curses.
I got my vices, I got my vice verses."
Then comes hope. You know that God is still going to use this event or situation to do good. Whether that be a suicidal friend, car accident that causes you to be late for work, you get fired from the job BECAUSE you were late, or something else, be hopeful in this: Isaiah 41:13 "For I am the LORD your God. I take hold of your right hand and say to you, 'do not fear. I will help you.'" God's not going to abandon us when the tough gets going. That's example enough. God saying HIMSELF that he will help.
There's something about hope that people question. Maybe sometimes we hope we hope for too much. Too little. When all else is lost, cling for dear life to hope.
When asked if the road he travels is worth the pain it causes, Jon Foreman says "I have the best job in the world." But the question caused him to think about the pains of life and the joys of life. The Vices and the Verses. He describes the contradictions of life; "Every man is equal" in a country of racial tension, killing someone is punishable by death but honorable through war, serving a God who loves the poor in big and rich churches. The tension of it all is enough to drive one insane. Yet, "the strings of our hearts were not made for safety. They were made to dance." And dance they do. "The transcendent alone can give meaning to the tension, purpose to the release." In some of the music classes I've been taking, I learned what a difference one note can make in the release of tension in a chord. From playing an Em chord on the ukulele to switching one finger two frets down to Gmaj, to laying across my bed after a long day of frustrating classes, we as humankind search for release. But we're all "stretched thin" as Jon Foreman describes it. We trudge along from depression to hope, "dancing through the storm."
We should continue to hope. Continue to live on, through the struggles and pain. If you are reading this, please continue to hope in life. As Foreman puts it, "for now, I'm gonna sing. I'm gonna string up my guitar and let those strings dance, stretched thin. It's true one day those strings will snap. But for now string 'em up, let 'em ring." Continue to dance my friends, dance like there's no tomorrow. Continue to play your music. Continue to surf those waves.
"...Let's go boys, play it loud."
That's my thoughts on the song guys, sorry if it's kinda scatterbrained and doesn't make sense.
references pulled from: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/jon-foreman/vice-verses-making-art-ou_b_974302.html
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