Justin Beiber’s drunk driving arrest is all over the news today. Reports issued say Beiber was caught drag racing on a Florida road high on marajuana, pills, and drunk. To make matters worse, his father was partying with him and his mother was reported to have given him the pills.
What another sad celebrity mess. What another child star gone to pot (so to speak).
But I see another story here.
Justin Beiber Pulls Himself Together!
Have you seen the Justin Beiber’s mug shot taken shortly after his arrest?
I had to stop and stare when Justin Beiber’s mug shot first flashed up on my news report this morning. The kid looks amazing – a display of pearly white teeth in a dazzling smile, his hair tousseled just right. Even Justin Beiber’s eyes sparkle and shine with just-a-bit-of-under-the-influence-affect seen when you look carefully
How could a kid who was under the influence of alcohol, pot, and pills, who had been drag racing down Florida streets risking his life and the lives of several others, whose parents were being accused of poor parenting at the very least, who had just been arrested, manage to look that pulled together?
Justin Beiber still looked like, well, like Justin Beiber.
Pull Yourself Together!
Seeing the mug shot got me to thinking that we actually might be able to learn something from Justin Beiber
We can pull ourselves together more than we sometimes do. Sometimes, when the world hurts, we fall apart. We let ourselves get sloppy both physically and mentally, making mistakes we wouldn’t normally make. We stop taking care of our bodies, our hair, our skin, our make up. Our homes, yards, vehicles, and even bank accounts become messy and disorganized.
This can lead to a downward spiral. When life gets bad, we look bad. We come to believe we are that person in the mirror, and life gets worse. It is too easy to collapse in the downward spiral life can sometimes present.
Instead, make an effort to Beiberize yourself (I can’t believe I just used the phrase Beiberize!) Pull yourself together even in the hardest times. Take a few extra minutes to do your hair, put on some light make up, go for a run or a walk if you have the time. Cut out the clutter.
Put a smile on your face. Smile with your mouth. Smile with your eyes! A smile costs little in effort and is truly something everyone can do if she chooses. The act of smiling alone makes you beautiful and approachable.
You can make yourself look good, to feel good to get to be good!
The first lesson of Justin Beiber is to smile when life is spinning out of control.
Come Out From Behind Your Mask of Perfection
On the other side of the coin, I look at Justin Beiber’s mug shot and I cringe. I see that glowing perfection he is trying to show the world, and I see how often we have done the same.
How many times has a friend asked how you’re doing and you’ve replied, “Great!” with that unwavering smile – even though your life is falling apart?
How many times have you looked with envy at someone else’s life not knowing they looked with envy at yours, neither of you seeing the other’s struggles, the other’s hurts, what goes on behind the other’s closed doors?
We live in a very strange society. We gossip about each other behind our backs. We say we’re fine when we are not and complain about nonsense when things are going well. We pretend we are viable, capable of living on our own while saying we need more time with friends and family we shut out.
We are a series of contradictions, but what if we were honest instead?
Honesty is hard to come by, especially when we need to be honest about our own lives. No one likes to air dirty laundry in public, but we need to be more open with one another. Too often we are stuck behind the mask, and when things go wrong we hide the pain, the struggles, the flailing attempts to heal ourselves.
The problems with this are that we cut ourselves off from those who can help and we isolate those who will go through similar circumstances in the future when we could have been a light in their darkness. And the cycle continues…
It is so hard to talk about things that bother us. I know this firsthand as I struggle to tell our story honestly, to be helpful to others who will go through similar circumstances while not condemning or overly contributing to the destruction those who have hurt my children or me will face one day (this is why there are no names of those hurters on this or any site of mine). I also know the retaliation for my speaking out will be fierce and painful, and I am not looking forward to that day, but I am okay with it coming.
Because this speaking out in love and honesty, this testimony, needs to be done loudly and clearly. We cannot hide behind our masks of perfection and still expect the Light to shine on our souls. We cannot hide behind our masks of perfection and expect to be a beacon leading the way for others who are right now stumbling in their own darkness.
You don’t need to be strong and open on your own. You do need to be honest and loving and (usually) together. God will stand with you when you stand with Him.
I hope someday I write an article congratulating Justin Beiber on pulling himself together for more than a mug shot. I know even he can be a light to others who will one day go through the darkness that he thinks no one can understand.
God Bless…