Voices

My son, Nathanael, once asked me why I enjoyed Country music. “The stories,” I answered, “the stories that often come from lived experience – stories that rub up against our own stories. Stories that articulate what we may have struggled to express. Stories that occasionally point us to a resolution from hurt, pain, or loss that once seemed elusive. Voices, written by Sara Brice and performed by Jana Kramer sparkles with insight on mastering your self-image, particularly one that has been poisoned from negative “voices” in your head. No stranger to pain, Kramer credits Voices as her saving grace, granting her permission to shut out the negative voices that, over time and a failed marriage, took-up residence in her head. “I’m fighting voices in my head. Voices in my head telling me that I’m not enough. I’m not pretty and I’m broken. I’m not worthy of love.”

Kramer shares that the song’s lyrics were exactly what she needed to hear, giving her permission to grieve the loss of a marriage and returning strength to move past a negative narrative that placed all the blame on her. In an interview with HollywoodMask.com, Kramer recalled listening to the demo Brice gave her on repeat for hours. The song got her so emotional that she would end up on the floor bawling and singing the song until she believed in it. Kramer recorded the song hoping that the song would provide comfort, hope, and healing for others just as it had for her. The resolution of the song occurs just as Kramer reaches exhaustion from the “voices” in her head that are defeating her: “Stop it, I can’t take another minute. I’m going crazy with these voices that are spinning in my head. Tell my head to listen to my heart. And my heart says, I’m done with voices in my head.”

Here in his letter to the churches in Galatia, Paul has become exhausted with the voices in his head, voices that question his authority to teach and preach, voices that confront him with falling approval polls for not holding a rigorous grasp upon sound Jewish ideology, voices that question Paul’s integrity – “Before God, I’m not lying about the things that I’m writing to you!” (Verse 20). In another letter, Paul confronts being bullied about poor oratory ability – “I know what some people are saying: ‘His letters are severe and powerful, but in person he is weak and his speech is worth nothing.’”[i] Tension builds between pleasing people and seeking God’s approval. The heaviness of Paul’s heart is on display in his failure to offer an expression of thanksgiving to the churches in Galatia so often found in his other letters. Paul’s heart now tells his head, “I’m done with voices in my head.”

Our thoughts, habits, and perception of ourselves must be informed by God’s claim upon us as God’s precious child, one for whom “nothing can separate us from God’s love in Christ Jesus our Lord.” (Romans 8:38). Kramer identifies the moment she takes hold of the narrative that dominates her life: “Stop it, I can’t take another minute. I’m going crazy with these voices that are spinning my head. Tell my head to listen to my heart. And my heart says, I’m done with voices in my head.” It’s all inside each one of us – the capacity to take control of the driving narrative of our life. The image we carry around inside is the most important tool for self-esteem or defeat. Paul asks, in Galatians, a rhetorical question contrasting God’s approval with human approval. We must make the choice. Kramer concludes the song with her choice, “I am strong, I am beautiful.”

Joy,

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[i] 2 Corinthians 10:10 (Common English Bible)