In a world of nothing but hustle and bustle, it's super hard to slow down and enjoy the simple things. Am I right? Every once in a while we'll find it in ourselves to slow down, and it'll hit us like a stack of bricks.
"Wow. These are the moments life is all about," we'll think to ourselves. You might catch a whiff of cookies baking and the smell can transport you back to being a little girl and pressing your tiny palms against the oven window, watching the treats rise with anticipation.
Or a song that you loved 8 years ago might come on shuffle at just the right time in your library that has 5,000+ songs and you close your eyes and literally see your 14 year old self sitting at your desk, knees propped up, journal opened & your pen moving as quick as you could write the words down as you recorded the day's happenings...only to have that song playing in the background.
Those moments are what REALLY get me.
I think I love music so much because I was the teenage girl who relied on music to make things better. I would journal out prayers, but always with music in the background. Broken heart? I had a song to fix it. First date jitters? There was a song for that. Developing a crush on a guy I couldn't quit thinking about? Song. Mad at the world and what it had become? Naturally, I found a song that sang about what I was feeling. Happy moment that required celebration? I'd find a song for that too.
I could probably write from now into 2016 about songs that have made an impact on me over my life. But here are a few of my favorite memories...
-Everything is Alright x Motion City Soundtrack
This song takes me back to my ENTIRE seventh grade year. It was the year my precious self ditched the glasses, figured out my hair was curly and started branching out of my little shy-shell. I can hear the very first second of this song and I'm transported back to my English class every single time.
-Slide x Goo Goo Dolls
Same - I hear this one and I go back to Benton Middle School. I loved this song so much, and I'm not really sure why.
-Be Good to Yourself x Journey
This one always takes me back to listening to 80's music with my dad on our way to school. It carried over into my adult life because now we listen to 80's music when we're at work together by ourselves. This one is a regular on our station!
-Pieces x Sum 41
This was the song I was referring to in the third paragraph up there. I wrote in my journals with this song playing in the background more times than I can count. I'm listening to it now, ironically enough :)
-Beauty Will Rise x Steven Curtis Chapman
This song was my saving grace when I got my heart shattered into a gazillion pieces my senior year of high school. The CD skips on this song every time I play it to this day. I'd turn my car on after another agonizing, anxiety-filled day at school and let the tears roll down my cheeks the entire drive home. Somehow through it all, this song was the most comforting thing I could find to cope through it.
-A Part of Me x Neck Deep
I heard this song for the first time when Jonathan and I went on a double date with our friends Tanner and Mariah to Matt B's in Murray. It's one of my all time favorite songs by them because Jonathan was the one who discovered them for me & it always takes me back to our first time listening to them. They're my favorite band now!
-Healer x Kari Jobe
Every time I hear or sing this song, I'm taken back to when we sang it at church and I was in desperate need of physical healing. I'll leave the specifics out, but I was so discouraged with myself. The song came on and the tears came freely. This song holds such a special place in my heart because it came on at the perfect time that one Sunday.
-All I Need is You x Jesus Culture
I played this song on repeat every day at my job my freshman year of college. I despised my job, I hadn't met Jonathan yet and I was in the worst rut. I know I was still relying on the Lord because of the song I was listening to, but I remember just feeling stuck. When I hear this song to this day I'm taken back to feeling so lost and out of control but there being an undeniable peace lurking around somewhere.
-With Me x Sum 41
Jonathan played this on our drive home after our first date. The first words are, "I don't want this moment to ever end -- where everything's nothing without you." He told me to listen to the words because they described how he was feeling that night. It's our song :)
-The One I'm Waiting For x Relient K
This entire album takes me back to a much, much simpler time. I can't explain the feeling other than this album lets me close my eyes and gives me peace. When things are going crazy in my life, or when something tragic makes the news, I still turn on this album. The first time I ever listened to it all the way through was the summer after my 6th grade year on the way to church camp. These songs were cool, this was a band that sang the way I liked, and I knew they'd forever be a favorite. I saw them about a month ago and they're still one of my favorites.
Those are just a few. I seriously could go on FOREVER but I'll spare you because I'm probably boring every single on of you to tears. I've linked all of these songs just in case you want to give any of them a listen. Think of one of your favorite songs. Go play it and revel in the memories. Our brains are so complex...and Jesus LETS us have the complexity. Is anyone else floored by this concept? I'm almost positive I'll never get over it.
-a
