DAILY DOSE OF HOPE – BLOG – NAIMA LETT
NOW THAT’S HOW YOU WIN!
Now that’s how you win a singing competition!
Tears. Hugging your father. Hugging your wife. Singing to the wife.
Thanking God. Thanking Jesus. Trying to sing while trying not to cry.
Wife boo-hooing. Holding each other up. Falling apart.
Did you see it?
Jermaine Paul’s response to winning NBC’s “The Voice” last night finally put the “real” in reality show. He did that thing that guys do where you can tell they’re trying to be hard and not cry, but they’re just too overcome with emotion to hold it together and completely become undone.
He was off the cuff as he tried to reprise his version of “I Believe I Can Fly”. Sometimes, he skipped the melody. Sometimes, he just stopped singing altogether while giving more hugs. No pretense. No trying to prove why he won. Just raw. Loved it!
In his first interview coming off the stage, Jermaine, former backup singer of Alicia Keys, said:
“All glory to God, man, all glory to God… If you just give your life to God, if you just believe in yourself, and let all the bull crap go, and push on, God will make a way for you.”
Earlier, onstage, Jermaine thanked “My wife, my children, my father, my mother, my mother-in-law… everyone that supported me from day one, God bless yal! Nobody but Jesus! Nobody!” (Video – skip to 6:00)
You know what it reminded me of? When Fantasia won American Idol. Remember that?
There’s just no way to fake that kind of genuine gratitude…. where you know people have struggled for years and years to just get a foot in the door, and then, it finally swings wide open and they are truly, truly thankful.
I have to be honest. Though I caught bits and pieces of “The Voice” throughout the season, including parts of the finale, I didn’t watch the show religiously. It’s not the easiest show to follow. Best I can tell, there are multi-rounds of eliminations and sing-offs within teams before you get to sing-offs against teams. It was just way too much for me to invest four hours weekly to figure this juggernaut out.
Then there was the bizarre performance by Cee Lo and Goodie Mob that threw me. Much confusion. And what one exasperated fan called the “bedazzled pampers” of Christina Aguilera. More confusion. Online entertainment mags reported in-fighting amongst judges and name-calling between judges and contestants. Maybe I’m just jaded from being in the industry so long, but I usually believe all reality show conflicts are manufactured by producers to garner ratings. Sorry.
So that’s why Jermaine’s response was so refreshing.
It wasn’t manufactured.
He was 200% grateful to God.
It reminds me of the story of blind Bartimaeus and his gratitude:
Luke 18:35-43
35 As Jesus approached Jericho, a blind man (Bartimaeus) was sitting by the roadside begging. 36 When he heard the crowd going by, he asked what was happening. 37 They told him, “Jesus of Nazareth is passing by.” 38 He called out, “Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!” 39 Those who led the way rebuked him and told him to be quiet, but he shouted all the more, “Son of David, have mercy on me!” 40 Jesus stopped and ordered the man to be brought to him. When he came near, Jesus asked him, 41 “What do you want me to do for you?” “Lord, I want to see,” he replied. 42 Jesus said to him, “Receive your sight; your faith has healed you.” 43 Immediately he received his sight and followed Jesus, praising God. When all the people saw it, they also praised God.
Bartimaeus did not wait for anybody to prompt him to praise God. He cut loose. As soon as he realized he could see, it was on. He lit that road to Jericho up with praise. So much so, that all the people who saw what happened, also praised God!
I imagine that the scene could have been similar to Jermaine’s win on “The Voice”, minus the ticker tape and electronic rain falling from the ceiling. I imagine that Bartimaeus hugged everybody that would allow an ex-beggar to hug them, first starting with Jesus. I believe if he could have, Bartimaeus bear-hugged Jesus and boo-hooed!
I imagine Bart high-fived all the other beggars he used to hang with and they cheered him on as he followed Jesus down the road to Jericho. I believe people were cheering and crying and snouting and amazed. I believe Bartimaeus could not shut up telling people what God did for him.
Sound about right, Jermaine?
What about us?
What are we grateful for today?
What is our win?
What has God provided for us?
Let’s allow Jermaine and Bartimaeus to inspire us today.
Let’s gush over how good God is.
Even if everything’s not as we wish it to be, there’s still something we can say “Thank You” for!
Dreaming of ticker tape falling from heaven,
Naima