Spaghetti Bridges and My Personal DJ

Tuesday night was horrible. I couldn't help but cry over a stupid spaghetti bridge for physics, which I thought would never be finished. There I was, happily (I never liked the project, but I was in a good mood) constructing my unique creation (while praying that it would hold 1 kg-2.2 pounds), when my dad ruined it.

My mother always tells me to not let anyone "ruin" my day but just roll it of my shoulders and say, "That's their problem, but I'm in a good mood and won't change because they are having a bad day." This seems impossible when you're talking about my dad. Now, my father is a loving husband and daddy who loves me deeply. But, sometimes he doesn't realize when he's yelling. When he's in the right mood (with the appropriate amount of sleep), he's funny and kind, complimenting me about everything. However, when he stayed up late the previous night or just didn't have a good day, he's the polar opposite. With that said, you can imagine how he reacted to my "far from perfect bridge." He kept on saying, "It's all wrong. Why would you make it that way? It's never going to work." Well, that's great Dad, but how exactly does that help me? I think we all fall into that sometimes. We think about the negative things in life and don't learn to problem solve, or tell others how to fix things (like just putting them down and not giving advice for change). I couldn't see (as much as I thought) how telling me it was wrong could fix anything! And plus, I was content with my bridge the way it was. A few negative comments and constant nagging caused me to get upset. With me upset, Dad just yelled more and I ended up crying (I'm a teenage girl, what do you expect?). Yelling at me "Stop crying!" doesn't help either. Long story short (although I've already made it long...): my mom forced me (literally pulled me away from the bridge up to my room) to go to bed. She e-mailed my teacher and had it due the next day instead. I still stayed up late the next night, but without my dad screaming at me. He actually volunteered to help me with my bridge and gave me some tips of improving the "poor design." It was a shock of a lifetime, but my spaghetti bridge passed that test and ended up holding around 5 pounds! I got an A+, but I still wonder if it was worth it.

After that drama, I, still in tears, turned on my new ipod docking station and played one of my favorite songs "Love it Away" by Krystal Meyers.




I've probably listened to this song at least ten times while I was crying. It's perfect. The beat, the tune, the message, everything. The part in the song where it goes "Don't cry anymore" is exactly what I need to hear. If you think about it, God knows every second that you cry, and He's right there with you, loving you, and hurting with you. How encouraging is that? Even when people let you down and aren't perfect, God will love you in your best and worst times. He will love all of your pain away.

And God's plan is impeccable! This is more proof that there's not such thing as coincidences. While trying to fall asleep and forget about my spaghetti bridge incident, I left my ipod on shuffle. Every song that played was exactly what I needed to hear. It was definitely a God thing, as if God was my personal ipod DJ! My songs went as follows.

1. Love It Away-Krystal Meyers
2. My Freedom-Krystal Meyers
3. Beauty of Grace-Krystal Meyers
4. All About Love-Steven Curtis Chapman
5. Don't Give Up-Santus Real
6. Getting Into You-Relient K
7. Activate-Stellar Kart
8. Stand in the Rain-Superchick
9. Brave-Nichole Nordeman

Perhaps you aren't familiar with these songs, but each one had a specific part that applied to me. They cheered me up and wiped away my tears. The following are lines that touched me.

1. "Don't cry anymore... He will, He will love it away."
2. "Will you be my freedom?"
3. "Tell me why'd you run? You say you’re so ashamed, Bruised and broken...The memories erased, Maybe that's the beauty of grace."
4. "This is the reason we were made To know the love of our Creator And to give the love He's given us away... It's all about love!"
5. "Don't give up on love and throw it all away"
6. "Do you know what you are getting yourself into? I'm getting into you...You're essential to survive, I'm going to love you with my life."
7. "Life is easy When you're sitting in the shade...I feel you drawing me away From my complacency...This is the purpose of my life This is, the reason I'm alive... Activate, activate."
8. "She fears if she cries that first tear, the tears will not stop raining down. So stand in the rain, Stand your ground. Stand up when it's all crashing down. You stand through the pain You won't drown."
9. "Welcome to the middle ground, You're safe and sound and Until now it's where I've been. 'Cause it's been fear that ties me down to everything. But it's been love, Your love, that cuts the strings. So long status quo I think I just let go. You make me want to be brave."

I don't know if you realize it, but all of these songs had an underlying theme. As each one played, I knew God was talking to me, through music. It was really cool. First, I picked "Love it Away," and that's exactly what Jesus did. "My Freedom" reassured me that I have freedom with God, and He's my ticket to freedom, if I just trust in Him. "Beauty of Grace" reminded me of God's grace and using that same compassion on others (this case, my dad). The next songs were also about love (God's love), which never fails, and loving others. This was what I needed to do with my dad. All he needed was some of my love, so right then and there, I forgave him. It felt nice, to let go of my anger and frustration and give it to God. 1 Corinthians 16:14 says "Do everything in love." This is harder than the simplicity of the verse sounds. The other songs strengthened my "epiphany" about love. Sanctus Real said "Don't give up on love," Relient K questioned me "Do you know what you're getting yourself into?" and Stellar Kart said "Activate! This is the purpose of my life." "Stand in the Rain" told me to keep my ground, despite my tears and troubles. I thought the last song closed everything perfectly. It ends with "Your love cuts the strings, you make me want to be brave." It tied both messages together: love, and following through on love (aka being brave). Not only did it help me that night, but it's helped me this week as well. Throughout the entire week the song kept reoccurring in my mind and I felt God calling me to be braver. That's my goal.

Deuteronomy 31:6 (NIV)

"Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid or terrified because of them, for the LORD your God goes with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you."

-Spaghetti Bridge picture found on Google, Yellow Flower picture taken by Bubbly :)