On Sunday evening this past weekend, I wandered into the bedroom at home intending to get ready for sleep. As I approached the door I could hear singing and, upon entering the room, I found my wife watching something on her phone. Enquiring as to what she was enjoying, she informed me that Taylor Swift, currently on her Eras World Tour, was on stage in Singapore and was about to make a special announcement about her upcoming new album. This was big news.
Of late, Taylor Swift’s music has often graced the airwaves of our home. As a parent, it is important to invest in the interests of your children and this particular interest is presently high on the list for one of our girls. And so, on Sunday evening, the story goes that my wife was watching the Taylor Swift announcement so that she would be able to chat with our daughter about it the following morning. Inspired by this response, over the following days I have read much in this space and now know far too much about Taylor Swift such as what the next stop on her world tour is, when the date her new album is due to drop, that there are five versions of the new album, her biggest ever concert crowd of 96,000 occurred recently in Melbourne and more.
Our household is not alone. As a part of my morning breakfast routine, I’ll sit and read the news. Over the past month, with her world tour reaching Australian shores, I have seen many headlines about Taylor Swift including the following (the last of which is my absolute favourite):
Within various articles were details of the dedication of many fans. One, who travelled from Indonesia to Singapore just to see Taylor Swift in concert, was quoted as saying "If she ever comes to Jakarta, I will spend all my money again to see her". Other articles detailed the length that some were going to prepare for the event, in particular, to create the perfect outfit with retailers struggling to keep up with the demand for cowboy hats, boots, and sequined items of clothing. One fan stated “I have to be a part of this club… I suddenly felt all this pressure to dress up sparkly and sequined.” Another spoke of how recreating one of Taylor Swift's looks took five months, with over 100 hours spent hand gluing and sewing over 12,000 rhinestones and over 7,000 sequins, “I worked too hard on it… to give it away; I’ve joked… that I’ll be buried in it!”
I marvel at the time, energy and commitment of these people to prepare for the arrival of their long-awaited event. This level of dedication to being ready reminds me of the parable of the bridesmaids in Matthew 25:1-13, in which Jesus outlines the value of preparedness, specifically referring to his promised soon-coming return. This is an event that Christians very much look forward to.
“When everything is ready, I will come and get you, so that you will always be with me where I am.” John 14:3
Jesus says to each of us 'you belong with me' and His return will be the culmination of the greatest ‘love story’. The Bible outlines that Jesus’ return will be beyond our ‘wildest dreams’ with an amazing lights display and music that will grab the attention of the whole world, much larger than any crowd seen at concerts played in our largest stadiums.
In the coming week, may we be like Taylor Swift fans, ‘shaking off’ distractions and spending time eagerly preparing for the things that we consider to be important. I for one am excited about seeing Jesus, and I look forward to seeing you there at the greatest show the world will ever see.
Mr Darren Martin
Assistant Head of Secondary:Teaching & Learning
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