One Year (Part Three)

I've never really attempted to put all of the following into words, and it all seems rather silly when I see it on paper or say it out loud, but I promise it makes sense in my head...

Sometimes it's funny how things work out. As bizarre as it seems, and as I said, as difficult as it is to word into an understandable concept, my whole Japanese idol obsession was born out of my time of spiritual renewal. To quickly clarify, as that may have sounded odd to the uninitiated, by "Japanese idols," I am referring to my pop-music girls; "idols" just happens to be the official term they are known as. Anyway...it's amazing to me how God can take something secular like that and allow it to be used as such a huge source of focus and inspiration for me, without it ever detracting from the focus on Himself. In fact, I am able to give Him all the more praise for allowing me to be so deeply involved in that sub-culture. In the past year, my J-pop and J-idol fandom has turned from a passing interest into the ridiculous obsession that it is today. And I'm the first to admit the absurdity of it all. Going purposefully overboard (i.e. buying cakes for their birthdays) with my admiration of the girls is all part of the fun. It seems crazy, but it's something I've needed. Before I left for basic training, I would often joke about the idea that if my major cause of stress in life is a 17-year-old Japanese girl getting a not-so-good haircut, then things must be going pretty well. It seems a bit nonsensical, but I've never taken for granted the fact that the Lord gets all the credit for allowing me to be involved in this realm of super-adorable, skirt-clad, singing/dancing Japanese girls. It's honestly a very happy and healthy way to occupy my time and the girls and the music have been instrumental in keeping my mood and mindset positive, as it is decidedly impossible to be or to remain in a bad mood or angry of depressed or even stressed when I'm involved in that world. Now, am I saying that I run to them when there's a problem? No; my constant state of connectivity with my Heavenly Father is what gets me through the day. What I'm getting at is the fact that He allows the J-idol world into my life as a tool to help get me through the day, because it works for me and my personality and character. I suppose the prime example of how it has assisted me comes from the fact that my main motivation through basic training (and even now) came, not from a Bible verse or anything blatantly spiritual, but from a J-pop song that just so happened to be released by a group that I had just so happened to have gotten into just in time for that song to become my prime source of inspiration. The general tone of the song, the lyrics (translated, naturally), and everything about it (heck, the video was military themed), was perfectly apt for my situation. I do not believe in coincidence. What I do believe is that God will use whatever He wants to use to help His children, and while I don't always understand the hows and whys of all that, I am exceptionally grateful for it.