You'll Find What You're Looking For

I've been listening to Amy Grant's newest CD,  Somewhere Down the Road (and  here at Amazon). At first I didn't think I liked the CD except for the first two songs. But as I've continued to play it, I've found the songs are steeped with rich and mature meaning. They have been churning around and around in my head blessing me a lot lately.

I put it on again today and was reminded of how simple and profound the message of one song is.  It's called Find What You're Looking For. The lyrics pose two questions,

"What would they find if they uncovered all of my tracks, of roads I'd snuck down...?"

and

"What would they find if they searched for a heart of gold?"

The answer, of course, is "They'd find what they're looking for."  In the one case, the searcher is looking for the bad stuff about her. In the other case, the searcher looks for the good.  They both find what they're looking for.

The chorus, Amy's notes indicate, come from a saying of her former mother-in-law's. 

"Cause there's so much good in the worst of us 
So much bad in the best of us 
It never makes sense for any of us
To criticize the rest of us.
We'll just find what we're looking for
We'll find it and so much more."

I don't think anyone consciously sets out to look for the bad in people.  We probably have a myriad of reasons that sneak up on us and make us that way.  Distrust. Fear. Pride. Insecurity.  I can see how all these could make us gravitate to look for the bad in people.  If we are fearful, we're going to want to scrutinize people to see if they're safe for us.  If we're prideful or insecure, we're going to want to look for weaknesses in others so that we can feel better about ourselves.

This song reminds us that because there's good and bad in all of us, we're guaranteed to find what we're looking for in another.  I love that it reminds us of all the good in people. We'll find it if we're looking for it.  And we'll get to enjoy it.