A Sermon from Hannah Montana

Yesterday, I took my little princess to see Hannah Montana: The Movie. I give it two thumbs up! It was rated G. I just love a rated G movie! I can appreciate a nice throwback to the old days when it was safe to enter a movie theater. The movie had a good storyline with great music and enough country flavor to give this wannabe farm girl her fill. But the best part was the part I didn’t expect. I didn’t expect to be moved to tears. I didn’t expect to hear a sermon from Hannah Montana. However, she preached to me. With her song, The Climb, she delivered a four-point sermon nearly as good as Shane Houle can.

She started singing, and I thought, “Nice song. Good voice.” But then she hit the chorus and with it the sermon began. First she rained conviction over my soul:

There’s always gonna be another mountain
I’m always gonna wanna make it move
Always gonna be an uphill battle
Sometimes I’m gonna have to lose
Ain’t about how fast I get there
Ain’t about what’s waiting on the other side
It’s the climb

Life is not easy, not for any of us. All around me I see sickness, financial hardship, and broken hearts. We all struggle. We all have a mountain in front of us. But guess what? That mountain should be embraced instead of shunned, and we need to stop wishing we could make it move and just enjoy the climb. Often I have viewed the things I have struggled through as valleys. I see the tough times in life as deep, dark, forsaken places. Now, thanks to Hannah Montana, I am going to view my struggles as mountains I can enjoy climbing. I want to see myself out in the sunshine struggling to get the top but still enjoying the process that is getting me there.

Hannah Montana wasn’t done preaching to me. She continued her sermon by speaking affirmation to my heart:

The struggles I’m facing
The chances I’m taking
Sometimes might knock me down
But no, I’m not breaking

Sometimes the struggles of life knock us down. Sometimes we are climbing that mountain, but we fall. Recently, I reached a point like that on my path. After I got up and resumed my climb, I still felt so guilty. When I fell down, I worried. I despaired. I cried, screamed and swore. I felt guilty because I should have trusted God. I should have been at peace. I should have praised and worshiped and prayed. But guess what Hannah was telling me? Sometimes we might get knocked down, but we don’t break. Just because we show our human side, doesn’t mean we gave up or lost the battle.

Some of you are probably getting a little tired of this teeny bopper’s sermon, but I wasn’t. God uses whom He chooses, and the next point in this sermon was a wise reminder from a very young girl:

I may not know it
But these are the moments that
I’m gonna remember most, yeah

The things that happen on the climb up the mountain are things that will never be forgotten. When I am climbing the mountain in front of me, I learn valuable lessons from God. I build strong bonds with those I love. I model how to climb a mountain to those around me. These are the things I will remember most. Because the climb was difficult, I will never forget the things that happened along the way to the top.

Finally at the end, it was like Hannah Montana wrapped her arms around me and started patting me on the back with her comforting words:

Keep on moving, keep climbing
Keep the faith, baby
It’s all about, it’s all about the climb
Keep the faith, keep your faith, whoa

I heard her crooning don’t give up Jami! You keep on fighting! Don’t forget this message: it’s the climb! You’re not breaking! These are the moments that you’re going to remember the most! KEEP your faith! Keep your FAITH! KEEP YOUR FAITH!

Guess what? I don’t care if you like her or not. I don’t care if you are 5 or 95. This is a message you need to hear too! Stop focusing on the mountain in front of you and start enjoying the climb. When life knocks you to the ground, get back up and get going again. The hardest struggles are going to make the best memories. No matter what you do: keep on moving! Keep climbing! Keep the faith!