Lent: The Last Five Years

Tonight I went to see The Last Five Years at the Theater Knoxville Downtown. If you aren't familiar with the show, check out the film version on Netflix.

The story takes us through the all the seasons of Cathy and Jamie's romantic relationship - from infatuation to infidelity to divorce.  The only catch to the plot is that their experiences are told separately and out of time.  At the beginning, Cathy is mourning the loss of their marriage while Jamie is experiencing the first flutters of new love. The two share only one scene together: their wedding.

I know sometimes I can be a bit sappy. But, y'all, this scene -- the music, the lyrics, the concept -- it's all just so moving.  I wish I could take you in the theater with me to see and hear it, because taken out of context it loses its power. But I want to share some of my favorite lyrics to the song and you can listen to it here:

I don't know why people run

I don't know why things fall through

I don't know how anybody survives in this life without someone like you.

I could protect and preserve

I could say no and goodbye

But why, Jamie, why?

I want to be your wife

I want to bear your child

I want to die knowing I had a long full life in your arms

That I can do...

So sweet, right?

But when looked at within the context of the show, is it as moving? Are Cathy's words quite as lovely in light of the way things end between them?  Do the great, deep, tragic love stories in our own lives lose their sheen once the curtain drops?

I'm 26-years-old and have been dating for awhile.  Over the years, I've collected some baggage - romance luggage, if you will. Fortunately, my luggage is filled with some exquisite treasures; people and experiences that I never want to forget.  But loving is a vulnerable enterprise.  When you open the windows to let in fresh air, you also run the risk of letting in bugs and other unwelcome visitors. 

This isn't a finished story yet; we're not finished stories yet either. And perhaps that's what is most painful about this one life we've been given - it's confusing and can't be wrapped neatly in a pretty box.  I read this recently in an interview with Mark Upton and it was earth-shattering for me:

"I'm learning that life and Jesus are mysteries to be explored not problems to be solved. Since we're in the middle of divine narrative that isn't over yet our lives don't really read like novels.  They read like chapters in a novel - closer to poetry than prose. Subsequently growing our divine intuition in the face of doubt is more important than pursuing intellectual certainty since certainty is unattainable while something is in motion."