The whole time I've listened to her, I have never really known anything about her personal life. But tonight, in between one of her songs, Brandi opened up about her religious background while mentioning her reaction to a friend committing suicide in high school. As she talked about how angry she was at 16 with her friend for killing himself, she mentioned that she was brought up Baptist. "I mean, REAL Baptist. I focused more on being Baptist than doing my homework, which is why I...graduated 'early'." It became very obvious that Brandi has derived some of her bitterness from religion that was shoved down her throat as a kid. My first reaction was "Oh, Brandi! You went to church?" followed closely by "Oh. Brandi. You went to church...."
I hate that tradition can get in the way of experiencing joy. I am not trying to hate on the church by any means, because Lord knows I've done enough of that in the past. But seeing what amazing talent this girl has, and the amount of influence she as on the world, it breaks my heart that she will likely forever carry a bitter taste in her mouth towards Jesus just because of how a random group of religious people treated her. Her songs are so powerful and vulnerable...it would be amazing to see her allow the Lord to fill up that hole instead of booze, sex, or the other things we all substitute for the real thing...to experience a friendship with a person who loves God but is open about the fact that they aren't perfect...that they are just as in need of grace as anyone.
It takes experiencing real grace to understand what true freedom in Christ feels like. I hope that I will never be "that Baptist" and will always be a person who enjoys life to the fullest, knowing that I have hope and am truly and deeply loved by a God who is actively involved in my life.
Just some thoughts.
4 comments:
Those are good thoughts and I agree with you completely!
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Brandi is an amazing person who happens to be very spiritual. Rest assured she is NOT a typical boozing rock star and never will be. Brandi gives back to her community, her fans, and is a positive influence on so many people. Brandi is a beautiful person inside and out.
From what I've read and heard, Brandi is bitter against organized religion, but she says she will always carry a fondness for her former religion. I think she is VERY spiritual, and I doubt thatthe word Jesus is ever a bitter taste in her mouth. She has taken her own path, and I salute her for that! Lucky you to have seen her so many times! :)
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