If anyone was ever to ask me what my favorite song would be, I would have to say it is, "I Want to Know What Love Is" by Foreigner. Yeah, I know. Cheesy, huh? I would have said that about fifteen years ago when the song actually came out, but I would have to say I have changed my mind. It was a song that really got to my heart nearly four years ago at a Foreigner concert here in Visalia. I didn't care for much of the crowd that day because they seemed to be a rather wild bunch (Up to this time, I've only been at all Christian concerts). However, the soul of that particular song rang true. It was like seeing a group of worshipers in step with a leader, who just happened to be lead singer, Lou Gramm. A sudden thought had occurred to me while in that stadium with all those people--How tragic that they do not know what Love is or WHO love is, for that matter.
It brought me back to the year 1990, when I was nineteen years of age, and not knowing what my college years were going to bring me. I heard a song on the radio called "True Blue Love;" it ws not by Foreigner, but by the voice behind the band, Lou Gramm. He had sung it with such vitality and vigor, as if he was really feeling those words in the song. If Lou could sing like that, I thought to myself, surely he knew the reality of those feelings. Better yet, what would it be like if he knew the Lord of Love? The real "true blue love?" So began something that I couldn't tell anyone, for fear of ridicule--I began praying for him.
The Lord had to deal with my own patience. Miracles don't just happen automatically. They take time. The next five years after that would prove that. I remember trying to write letters to band members, hoping to change their minds about what they were singing about. That, in and of itself was a very immature move, because all it did was make me more anxious and impatient. My viewpoints at that time were a little more judgmental and prudish. Little did I know that the Lord was going to deal with me in an unexpected way.
Most Foreigner fans know that Lou and his partner, Mick Jones had split in 1990. They were two of the main members of the band. it was a little ugly, perhaps, but it taught me that Lou wasn't the only one who needed my prayers. Foreigner had come with a new lead singer in 1991--Johnny Edwards. He was a little crass, and I didn't think he was much of a match against Lou. Could it be jealousy. I think so. Definitely, it was a bad attitude problem on my part. An interview on "Rockline" with Mick and Johnny would only reinforce my bad attitude, because when people mentioned Lou's name, Mick did his best to avoid the issue.
Enter Foreigner concert 1991 at the Big Fresno Fair, a show that was later aired on the radio. After realizing I actually LIKED Johnny's voice, I knew right then that I had an attitude problem. That night, I began praying something different. I told the Lord that I needed forgiveness for my impatience, and if it would be His will, to reunite Lou and Mick again as friends.
Miracle No. 1 came less than a year later. I happened to turn my radio on to hear a new song that was actually with Foreigner--with Lou Gramm! I don't think I've ever heard of bands that have brought back their lead singer after a rivalry of sorts. But it happened, and one prayer was answered.
Miracle No. 2 occurred unexpectedly. Rarely do I ever visit newsgroups, but I just happened to check out a Christian music group. Someone had posted a heading on a site, asking if anyone knew about Lou becoming a Christian! This was obviously news to me. I had ignored it previously, until I was talking to someone online who happened to be from Rochester, New York, Lou's birthplace. He confirmed it true, as well as telling me that Lou has sung churches around his local stomping grounds. My patience had paid off, only to remind me that God was in control, and that I wasn't.
I'm not sure when the next miracle of Foreigner will come to pass, but I expect the Lord is taking care of that.
Years later, I would be examining the gothic subculture and hanging out with a totally different group of people with a different worldview. However, I'll never forget where I came from and the things that the Lord taught me through praying for Foreigner. And as Lou sang during a special Harvest Crusade in Rochester, NY, "Now I know what Love is. I know He has shown me."
"But Seek ye first the Kingdom of God, and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added unto you." Matt. 6:33 (KJV)
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