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.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~

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.

Wild Horses

...I want to be like you.

Throwing caution to the wind

I'll run free, too.

I kind of love Natasha Bedingfield. Or at least this song :) It brings up the same feelings that Wide Open Spaces, by the Dixie Chicks does. Those songs speak to my soul and stir up all sorts of restless emotions. They make me want to uproot my entire life and start over somewhere new. Not necessarily because starting over is an option, but because the unknown is fascinating.

I feel like Americans are a restless, wandering people. We have always loved the anticipation and surprise of discovery; whether it is a new valley or a new planet. We like to be aware of our surroundings and thus be assured of our place in this Universe. From the earliest beginnings of Europeans on this continent, we have been curious about what is ahead, and eager to be the stewards of our destinies.

Wandering is a way to control our destinies. It is a way to open new doors of opportunity and move forward. I am realizing more and more that I am pretty firmly planted here in Orem, Utah. I like the known. I like the familiar. However, the more thought I put into it, the more I realize that staying rooted here just equals me closing doors on myself.

Sure, there are a lot of (really convincing) reasons to stay where I am, and not mess with the mix (the economy is comparably good here, I am close to my family, it is familiar, don't fix something that aint broke, and so on) But there are also a lot of really alluring options out there.

My Grandpa lives in a house that his grandfather built. He is the 3rd generation to live there, and the 4th also inhabits it now. My Grandpa's great-grandfather is buried in the same cemetary that he will one day be laid to rest in. I like that my family has a history there in the charming town of Malad, Idaho. I like that I have some sort of heritage there, but I am not sure that is what I want from my life.

When people trace the path that is my life, will it be a tiny circle, with me never venturing out of my comfort zone? Or will I take the plunge and do something different? Forge a trail far out into the unknown? Honestly, I am not sure right now the answer, but I know which I would prefer.