Thursday, November 29, 2012

The Hope in the Hopelessness

Dem Lovato's latest album, Unbroken, is a slightly like her best friend, Selena Gomez's latest album. Repeat slightly. With it, comes a few party songs and a few breakup songs. 'Fix a Heart' is a breakup song, but it's actually a lot different from a  Selena Gomez song.
If you know Demi Lovato, you know her story is very different from a typical star's story. She started off by starring in Camp Rock, which was her big break. In 2008, she released her debut album, Don't Forget. Then, in the following two years, she released Here We Go Again, began to date Joe Jonas, starred in a sequel to Camp Rock and got a lead role in the  Disney Channel sitcom, Sonny with a Chance.
That's where things start to get different.
After releasing Camp Rock 2, she and the rest of the Disney gang started a Camp Rock tour. Then, a little incident lead to punching her backup dancer. Dropping out of the tour, she went into rehab where she was disanoised with bipolar depression and eating disorders. Apparently, she was a cutter for a long time and kept it a secret.
After awhile, she got out of rehab and released her album, Unbroken. She is now telling her story to the world and judging on the X factor. She has changed. Caring much more for her fans who are inspired by her greatly, she seems to know Jesus.
 Similar to 'Already Gone' by Kelly Clarkson, 'Fix a Heart' is a very intense breakup song. Instead of have that, 'Get out of my life! You failed me!' tone, (like most breakup song by females) she seems to have a more 'I want this to work, but I know where this is going. I care about you, but I can't do this' tone. In this song, you can tell that she does not want this relationship to end. In the first verse she says, "I only what's best for you/And if I'm not the best than you're stuck."
Then, she cries out:"I tried to serve ties/But I ended up with wounds to bind/It's like you're pulling salt on my cuts."
This song has a very 'hopeless' feeling to it. "Baby, I just ran out of band aids/I don't even know where to start/'Cuz you can't bandage the damage/You never really can fix a heart."
Wow.
Actually, I could compare this song to many  secular songs, but the ones I could compare them to really don't have a very hopeless feeling to them. But.... I think I know where's Demi's getting at. "Please don't get my hopes up," she begs. "Oh, baby, tell me how could you be so cruel?"
I've heard of this. Sometimes, when relationships get too deep, something goes wrong. If you're depending too much on a relationship, it's going to get to the point where your boyfriend/girlfriend gets weary of the pressure and ends it. "I must've held your hand so tight/You didn't have the will to fight/I guess you needed more time to heal."
That is the worst breakup you could go through. Afterwards, there are so many emotions. You're mad at the person for leaving you. You really don't know why this had to happen or what caused it. You're cried out to God, screaming, Why? You're confused. You're scared that you may not be able to move on. You feel so... hopeless.
Demi performed this song on her latest tour. On the tour, she said, "I sang a break up song exactly four years ago, in this place," she paused and sighed. "I ended up getting over that person and I ended up singing another song. I want to let you guys know, if you're going through a heartbreak, which some of you might be, this song is for you guys and that's why I put it on my record."
Putting salt on a cut cleans you, but it is never  used as a remedy now because it hurts so bad. But it does clean you in the end. So in a way.... there is hope in that line.
This song is written about a breakup, but as Demi said, it's talking about a heartbreak. So, therefore, it could mean something else, something that could relate you..... like, maybe a mistake, a very bad sin that you made in the past. That could be your 'cut.' Or you could think about it as a breakup, a breakup in which you sinned bad, and now it's all over and you know what's right. The point is that we're all haunted by our dark past, it's breaks our hearts. That could relate to this song.
Breakups, especially this one, can really get you down. Even once you slightly get over it, you have a scar. You're scared to love, or to trust someone. You're really hurt, and you don't know who to trust. You wonder if you're living a lie, so you shut yourself up and lock the door to your heart, which can only hurt you even more.
This song is pretty hopeless. Actually, it's sad because a lot of songs are like this, but if you have Christ, it shouldn't bring you down.
Even the strong Christians are super close to Jesus, etc, are haunted by their past, but the truth it that they  don't have to be!
We don't have to beat ourselves up because of our dark past! Instead of just thinking about our mistakes, we can think about how much God has done in our lives now. He died for our sins and had victory over sin. Just think about how much God has changed you and think about how different you are now than then. We don't have to beat ourselves up because God has forgave us. He has changed, saved, and redeemed us.
So, no, you never really can fix a heart. It's not in our power, but Jesus.... He can. He can come into your heart and make you new. He can give  a desire for Him.
So, listen to this song, and know that it just doesn't end there! It doesn't end with "You never really can fix a heart." God can save you! Jesus can fix your heart! You sure can't, but He can. If you're a Christian, think about your past and think about how much God has changed you for the better.
This song is hopeless, but the truth is, that it doesn't have to end there.
Once, Demi tweeted, "Sometimes it seems like God just keeps throwing crap my way and I get SO angry with him… But there's never a doubt in my mind He's gonna pull me through it all."
You don't have to have a doubt either.

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In Christ,
Sarah