Slowly over time I am losing all touch with the popular music of the culture. As a teen I was deeply involved in popular music, in college I listened to more fringe music and after college I stayed pretty current. The children came and I slowly started loosing touch with popular music. Now I listen to my teenagers music and I realize I have drifted into a new category of person. I now listen to what my children call “old people music.” I have tried to explain that my music was cutting edge when I was a young, but that just gets a casual eye role.
Well, to stay a little in touch my wife and I try to watch some of the top 20 shows on the music TV channels plus we watch some of the award shows. The other night at the American Music Awards the boy band named One Direction performed a song called “The Story of My Life.” We both liked the tune and I went on to download the song.
If I understand the song correctly it is a song about lost love. A boy has loved a girl but she decided to end it. He then is left to pursue her without reciprocated feelings. In the end, the story of his life is about loving a woman who doesn’t love him.
What catches me about the song is this simple question, “What will be the story of my life?”
Let’s be clear – we are all writing some story with our lives. It will be summarized in an obituary or in a eulogy one day. What will be the story of my life?
Will it be the sad story of lost love? Will it be the story of loving one woman? Will it be the story of a loving parent? Will it be the story of a serving Christian? What will your story be?
Maybe better yet, what is the story you are writing right now? Is it positive? Is it negative?
Maybe the song is a simple wake up call to re-write your story into something worth reading. Maybe we could take today and wipe the slate clean and begin to write a new story. Maybe the story of my life will come in two parts – the first years and then the second chance to do it better.