music monday

as a child, i was blessed to be raised by my sweet grandma, jenna lee. her life was a perfect example of how we can intertwine the gospel with our daily lives. anyone who knew her loved her, and could feel the spirit radiate from her. the resounding lesson she taught me about the spirit was that it was easily brought or chased away, by music.

music has the ability to speak to my very soul. it transcends all bounds and speaks to me.

when i was in high school and particularly distraught one day, i called my grandma. as i usually did, i talked it out with her and got some amazing advice. about a week later, she and grandpa came down, and she had a surprise for me; the motab cd, sweet peace. grandma always knew how to fix a problem, and this cd was the perfect answer to my problem! this cd is full of peaceful, comforting songs. it was exactly the thing i needed, and got me through a lot of teenage angst and drama. i still adore this cd. r

music was a theme with my grandma. she loved music, and was a great pianist. you could tell her mood by the song she was playing and how fast she was playing it. there is nothing more calming than being lulled to sleep by a grandmother's music, and nothing more lovely than waking up to her playing.

if my siblings and i fought, we had to sing love at home until we were friends again. car rides were not filled with the radio or chatting, but singing. for my grandma, the perfect evening involved some sort of food, and then a sing-along around the piano, with all of her grandchildren singing to her accompaniment.

because of my grandmother's influence (both on my own mother and myself) i have a great love of music. i am eternally grateful for her influence in my life, but also for music. the Lord said in D&C 25:12 "for my sould delighteth in the song of the heart"

it's nice to find you have something so human in common with the Lord.

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on a related note, my grandpa's in the hospital right now, having sinus surgery. i had the same surgery, same doctor, same hospital, when i was in high school. hopefully my presence here will go a long ways to guaranteeing his presence in my life for a long long time still.