Arise and Shine, Despite the Rocks

Oh Taylor Swift, you've spoken to my soul yet again.

Five minutes ago I sat here, staring at the one or two sentences that I'd very poorly constructed and not knowing how to move forward. I had a lot to say, I just didn't know how to say it.

Frustrated, I flipped over to glance at Pinterest. Someone had pinned a quote from one of my favorite Taylor Swift songs (eh, who am I kidding? All of her songs are my favorite) which miraculously unblocked my writer's block.

Now, the nice thing about Taylor Swift is that while she isn't Bob Dylan (Thank goodness. I'll give you that the guy is a lyrical genius, but my heavens his voice sounds like a toad that was hit by a train in the vocal chords) she just knows how to talk to me. I don't know what it is about the way she writes her music, but I relate and or have in the past related to about 90% of her material.

My friend Kyla and I used to joke that she writes our lives. It's so truuuuue, Ky! So true.

Back to it: Thanks to the anonymity that social media allows, strong and passionate opinions (oftentimes unedited and unfiltered) have been flying for the past three months about a myriad of different social issues, none of which this post is about. This has all lead to my current plight which is that I'm feeling under attack as a religious, right leaning, young wife and mother who on occasion allows her voice to be heard when it comes to social issues I feel strongly about.

I'm also feeling frustrated that I can't seem to express myself concisely. I'm frustrated at my inability affect change; to soften hearts; to share the love that I have for the things I believe without having the them torn apart and thrown back in my face as twisted, ugly, evil things.

"Arise and shine forth that they light may be a standard to the nations"

I'm tryin' to shine, here, people! Why are you not catching fire??

Maybe it's because I'm trying to light buckets of water.

So then Taylor told me in a song she wrote:
"Don't you worry your pretty little mind. People throw rocks at things that shine."

Like two little boys, sitting on a pile of dirt who see that thing glinting in the sun which turns out to be an aluminum can, perched on a fence and they decide to see who can knock it down first.

If you put it up there, there will always be people who want to knock it down. But that doesn't mean you should stop putting it up there.

I will never convince everyone to believe what I believe. I may never convince anyone to believe what I believe...but that's okay. What matters is that I shared what I believe and didn't back down when accusations flew or personal attacks were made. I'm not going to stop shining just because you keep trying to put my light out. I'm not going to stop hanging out on fences just because you keep trying to knock me down.

Because gosh darn it, I'm a shiny aluminum can, glinting in the sunlight!!

...well, you get the point...