TAYLOR SWIFT

So apparently T Swift came out with a new album.

I haven’t listened to any of it yet, not sure I will or not, but once again she’s in the headlines and the topic of much conversation.

What follows isn’t really about Taylor, it’s about me and you, through the lens of her life and career.

I think we all know, she’s incredibly rich, famous, a great musician, and well known for her messy love life.

I will admit, I loved her first albums, they spoke to my angsty younger self. I’d probably still be listening to her music more often, but one I heard it got more explicit and I didn’t really wanna go down that road, and two it made me feel real blue and that’s a feeling I’ve learned I have to sip in small doses.

What I’d like to explore for a moment is why I think so many people across the world love and connect to her.

I think it’s the gripping way that she is at once famous and fragile.

She has shown herself to be imperfect & emotional and yet millions cheer her name. I think in her we see something we want for ourselves. To be allowed to be fragile and imperfect, but still validated and told we matter, really matter.

Right, wrong, or otherwise, I know I want that. To feel I matter despite my limitations and imperfections. To become so confident that even my scars become verses in my song.

I am sure there are a thousand critiques that can be made of her, but there are also lessons to learn too.

One:

I think she’s living out parts of God’s design for her, even if she’s not using it in a way that honors or glorifies Him. I believe she was made to sing and tell stories and she is.

Living out God’s design in your life looks good and feels good. Birds are meant to fly, singers to sing, builders to build…

I want to keep discovering and living out the design God has for me and I want the same for you.

Two:

There are other types of famous. For example, famous among your family and friends as a person who is kind, honorable, & trustworthy.

I want to be famous in the way I am meant to and able to. It’s okay to want the affirmation of others, we just have to choose our crowd wisely. I want that standing ovation for you too.

Three:

It’s okay to be fragile and it’s good to use those scars to add shape and melody to the song of your life.

I hope that today you can rest in the love & acceptance of God found through Jesus & lean into your story.

“to grant to those who mourn in Zion— to give them a beautiful headdress instead of ashes, the oil of gladness instead of mourning,
the garment of praise instead of a faint spirit; that they may be called oaks of righteousness, the planting of the LORD, that he may be glorified.” Isaiah 61:3 ESV

See you next Thursday!

Geno Schmelzer,

Do you enjoy soul searching inspired by everyday headlines and events. Check out my podcast, there’s plenty more it happening there!

It’s a free flowing, no off limits topic, conversation about life, with the goal of getting kinder, wiser, healthier, more successful, through all the questioning.