memories & superchick

When the song "Stand in the Rain" by Superchick debuted, I was living on my own in a little rural town in southwestern Oklahoma attending University. Besides going through a difficult break-up, I was homesick and alone and struggling under the weight of both. When the song drifted through the radio speakers in my car one evening,  It spoke to me, and as tears flooded my eyes, the weight on my chest finally eased off a little and I knew it was safe to breathe again. 

"...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

And one day, what's lost can be found

You stand in the rain." (Superchick lyrics)

That's why when the Warnors Theater listed "Superchick" as an upcoming concert, I instantly dialed my husbands desk phone and insisted we get tickets. 

Last night, he & I and my brother, Reuben, raced to downtown Fresno in Reuben's tiny Saturn after having to make a last-minute stop for gas. We quickly picked up our tickets at the "will call" window and then, after a bit of confusion from some general admission ticket holders, claimed our seats front and center in time to watch the opening bands Bread of Stone and SameState, both of which were pretty awesome. 

And then the lights dimmed for the main event as the band we had all waited for took center stage.

The show was phenomenal (and I haven't used that word in years but Superchick so deserves it). We sang, we danced, we learned some new dance moves, but most importantly we felt God's love reflecting through the lyrics and joy radiating throughout the space. Some songs I had only heard a few times but many were old favorites and flooded my heart with memories. 

I remember my dear friend Drew who I met years ago at summer camp. I remembered his life struggles, his pain, his hopes and dreams and how despite negative influences trying to rob him of his faith and joy, he found his hope in Christ and sang Superchick songs as his anthems to help him through dark times. 

I remembered an even older memory of the very first time I ever saw the band in concert. I was only fourteen years old and very shy, while Superchick was wild and crazy and out of my comfort zone. I remember watching them sign autographs, seeing them smile at me when I was too shy to approach them , but realizing that these people were radiant. Though I was unsure of their music at the time, I was certain that they loved God and that they were simply trying to share the message of hope with the population. I remember the girl in my youth group who was also at that concert and accepted Jesus as her Savior that night. I saw her a few days later at church and I could just see Jesus radiating from her face. She was so happy as she joined our prayer circle and took my hand. She was killed in a car accident later that week. I will never forget the sadness I felt when I heard the news. But I will also never forget the hope and the peace that I felt knowing that she had found truth and that she was now living with the Savior she had been introduced to. 

Superchick challenged me: as a person, challenged my beliefs, my pre-conceived notions about what constitutes worship, challenged me to be bold, to stop hiding behind my flaws and insecurities and to become the girl God intended me to be. 

As I danced and rocked and sang with Superchick last night, I remembered all of this. And I remembered that God is more powerful than circumstances; that he gives me a hope and a future; that I simply have to trust him with my life. 

Thank you Superchick for that reminder, 

and for those of you reading this, thanks for making it this far with me. 

Let's see where God takes us in this new year...

<3 Bethany