Good Vibrations

I grew up on a healthy dose of what are lovingly referred to as "oldies but goodies." The Supremes, The Monkees and The Temptations, just to name a few. My parents grew up in the 1950's and 60's during the British music invasion and the rise of rock and roll. Chubby Checker was doing the twist while The Isley brothers were making people want to shout.
By the time I came around, a 1990's baby on the cusp of a new millennium, the music my parents knew by hearts was the stuff of Froggy 94.7, the since retired oldies station in my hometown. My Dad's truck only ever played one of two stations. Froggy or talk radio. Mom's cars traded the talk for Classy 100, the station featuring the old and kid-friendly new. But most of the time the dial was set to Froggy. As a result the songs of my youth became the songs of the 60's.
The songs that played on Froggy still pop into my mind from time to time and none more frequently then the songs of the Beach Boys. Those California boys were my Dad's favorites.
When Froggy wasn't playing or a pundant talking, the Beach Boys were playing, Dad would play one of his Beach Boy CDs. Dad knew every line to "Fun, Fun, Fun" and "Kokomo." When "Surfin USA" would come on he'd turn up the volume. When "Good Vibrations" came on I'd crank it up even a bit further.
"Good Vibrations" was always my favorite of the Beach Boys classics. I never bothered to learn the lyrics of the verses. It was the chorus and the "om-bop" feel good tune that I loved. From the Beach Boys 1966 hit I filled up on good vibrations and excitations.
As a kid good vibrations were as easy to come by as a tune on the radio. I was carefree. I didn't have the stress of a job, health or singleness. The challenges of adulthood were too far off for me to understand or consider. I could embrace the good vibrations of happiness and joy.
And then I grew up. Froggy 94.7 went off the air and with it the old sounds of my youth. Years passed before I heard The Supremes. The Beach Boys and their good vibrations became a distant memory. With the coming of age has come the challenge of remaining filled with good vibrations in the face of circumstances and troubles that appear anything but good. To sing of excitations as a child is one thing,  choosing that attitude as an adult is a whole different animal.
Choosing good vibrations as an adult requires overcoming the challenges of reality. It isn't as easy as humming a tune and repeating some "lm-bops." To have good vibrations that can withstand the storms of life the pulse of the vibrations, the rhythm and tenor must come from the soundtrack of God's indwelling. He is the source of lasting, enduring good vibrations. The CD can break, the radio station can go off of the air, but God's good vibrations never cease.
As I child I didn't understand the impact of the words I was singing. I didn't comprehend the difficulty of having continual, perpetual good vibrations. All I knew was the Beach Boys and their song. Now I see that good vibrations have nothing to do with California, the beach or surfing in the sun. They have everything to do with being filled with the Holy Spirit of God's one and only Son. Good vibrations are only truly good when they are breathed out of the heart of God and into the soul of man. The only vibrations worth having are the vibrations that beat to the drum of God's truth.
These days my car doesn't play many oldies. I don't have a Beach Boys CD and Froggy isn't around to be tuned in on my dial. But I have good vibrations. I have the best vibrations. I have the vibrations of God's truth and Gospel bolstering my spirit and heart. The rhythm of God's good news is pulsating through my body with a excitation better than any wave a California surfer could ever hope to ride. Playing on repeat is the soundtrack of my soul are God's good, true and lasting vibrations of salvation and new life.