Every Story Needs a Soundtrack

So… let’s talk music. Wanna? See, I’ve got songs attached to all my best memories. You, too?? From Country and Blues to Rock ‘n Roll, especially Southern Rock (*Swoon*). From Disco and Pop to Rap and Hip-Hop. From Funk and Raggae to all the best dance tunes. From live bands to my good ol’ college jam band days… from the 50’s all the way to today. I just love it! With (clearly) very few exceptions.

I care not that I sing wildly off key and play no instrument… and, this certainly doesn’t stop me from sharing this non-gifting of mine with the poor, tortured Big Daddy (Who IS actually a trained musician. Oh well.) In the house. Outside the house. In the car. In a bar. Okay, so I (mostly) added that last one because it rhymed and my brain gets stuck in places… like last week apparently being Dr. Seuss week, and all. Oh, and I may or may not have been known to sing in a bar, but it just seems a bit too soon to tell you these kinds of things. Anyway… the bottom line is this: It’s just ON when that perfect song comes on. Am I right? And, don’t get me started on how my mind, like a switch, automatically turns to a lyric every chance it gets.

Music, for me, is simply the best way to season a life. Season a story. Like how you can bake a plain, whole chicken, without adding one spice, and have a meal. Or, you can take that same plain chicken and cover it with olive oil and s ‘n p, then stuff it with a lemon, some garlic and a few rosemary sprigs and you can have a WONDERFUL meal. (Seriously. Really yummy. I very much dislike cooking and avoid it at all costs, but this one’s a go-to for the simplicity and tastiness of it all. And, we’re moving on…)

Plus, all great stories are filled with music. Every movie or show we’ve ever loved has that perfect song. Or songs. They add the passion, the emotion, the beauty and I simply couldn’t imagine my own story without them. They’re the ones I’ve clung to along the way because they offered the words I could not speak, the encouragement I desperately needed, the opportunity to weep out loud, or that perfect chance to sing and dance wildly out of control. And, to me, that’s priceless… and oh, how I need every bit of all that.

So, what do you think? Does your story need a spicy, passion-filled soundtrack?? If so, be encouraged. I believe we were created to worship and music is one of the best ways to wake up a soul to their story, so let’s just go on and trust that our God is more than gracious enough to lead us there.

Or, maybe the soundtrack to your story is already spinning and you are loving – and singing  – every moment of it. Pure bliss. If so, what do you think about sharing with the rest of us? I’ll go first. Obviously.

So about this time last year, I was really struggling with some old junk and stumbled (no such thing really, but that’s for another post) upon Chris McClarney’s beautiful song, “God of Our Yesterdays”. God really used it to minister to me in a special way so, I added more of him to my playlist and grew to absolutely love the song below, especially the throwback sound. Now, it just seems too perfect for this new adventure. Or this Sunday. Or, any day really.

So, at this very moment, let’s just rest in the blessed assurance we can all have in Jesus, shall we…