The Weepies, Clive Staples, and Change

Yesterday when you were young
Everything you needed done was done for you
Now you do it on your own
But you find you're all alone, what can you do?

Last Friday, we went to a concert of one of our favorite musical groups, The Weepies, a husband-wife duo of Steve Tannen and Deb Talan. We've grown to love their music over the last couple years and jumped at the chance to see them when we found they were playing in Philly to promote their most recent album, Be My Thrill.

The night was a joyful experience for us. We joked afterward that we caught ourselves at several points during the concert with slack jaws and big dumb grins on our faces as we watched them play. It was just good.

You and me walk on, walk on, walk on 'Cause you can't go back now

One song in particular, 'Can't Go Back Now', caught both of us off guard. In it, Steve sings about marching through life's changes, about striking out on your own and what you gain and lose in the process. It struck a familiar chord.

You know there will be days
When you're so tired
That you can't take another step
The night will have no stars
And you'll think you've gone as far
As you will ever get

Just yesterday Amy described this new season of life (marriage and moving to a new place) as "A ghost of a new me becoming solid." I think I understand what she's saying. Becoming new hurts. It's unfamiliar and it's impossible to depend on what is comfortable or familiar.

Like in C.S. Lewis's novel The Great Divorce, the "ghosts" have a hard time in the High Countries. The sharp, solid grass is painful on their transparent feet. They want to get on the bus and go back. And yet an invitation beckons them: "Will you come with me to the mountains? It will hurt at first, until your feet are hardened. Reality is harsh to the feet of shadows. But will you come?"

So here we sit. In the midst of change - often in the midst of loneliness and uncertainty. The only assurance is the One who beckons; the One who will take each step with us.

I can't really say why everybody wishes

they were somewhere else
But in the end, the only steps that matter

are the ones you take all by yourself