HOPE

This summer, Jon and I took the girls to their first outdoor concert. I preface the following by saying Jon will never lose his law enforcement training and having three young girls, he is hyper-vigilant when we are in large crowds. That night, halfway through the set, a young man seemed to sneak out of nowhere and stood right by us with an overly stuffed large backpack. At first, there was no one with him and he did not seem to move a muscle, no real eye contact with people, did not say hi... Now me, I initially did not think much of it but Jon got a little concerned. As my awareness piqued so did my concern, enough that I am not ashamed to say I seriously considered we leave.

Jon did strike up a conversation with the kid. (Yes, Jon was friendly but I know my husband enough to know that underneath it was also an inquisitive, fact-finding conversation.) I am thankful that my husband is in tune to things this way as I am kind of a rose colored glasses want to believe that everyone is harmless kind of thinker. We complement each other in this way.

Obviously, nothing transpired and we left telling him to have a good night. Maybe our fear and concern was unfounded and from our own minds running amok? However, how can we not be vigilant? Jon and I love going to concerts; the girls loved being there this summer. I will be honest when I say I do not know that we will take them to another concert any time soon. How sad that something like music – which can heal a soul, help people to feel free from worries and strife, bring people together – can be tainted by hate and fear.

This morning with the news of Tom Petty, a very happy childhood memory came back to me. When I was young, my Dad and some of his friends from the Cities had a band. They called themselves The Poison Trolls. I remember a time they rehearsed at our house. I remember them doing Tom Petty covers among other classic rock. I remember the music, shaking the tambourine and singing into the microphone. I remember being happy and feeling free. I’ve just been thinking about music and how much I’ve needed it in my life and I think we all need it. What can we do to make this world a place where my kids can listen to music and laugh, and play, and feel free?

I hate that as the girls and I rode bike to school I went over scenarios in my head about how this day could go down for them or for Jon at school. My mind goes there, how can it not? I hate that I think about these things, but I’ve got three young girls and it’s okay to be vigilant as unfortunately that is just the world we live in. But today, I also just want to live in hope.

“Hope is what we crave,

And that will never change

So I stand and wait

I need a drop of grace

To carry me today,

A simple song to say

It's written on my soul:

Hope's what we crave”

(for KING & COUNTRY)