When I have a hard time focusing and nothing else works, I turn to the power of music. Songs have always played a powerful role in my life. When I find things to be more difficult than I can handle, music tends to be an outlet for that pain. I can connect with the words on a level I generally can not tap into any other time. Throughout my life there have been songs that spoke to the depths of my soul, songs that even to this day still can bring me to tears.
There was a song from a performance that my older sibling’s youth group did at our church called “Dreamer” about the life of Joseph. The song was called “He Will Carry You.” I have very few memories that are clear as a young child, but I still remember most of the words to that song. It is a powerful reminder when I feel overwhelmed, that God will carry me.
Then there was a song by Michelle Pillar (1982), who came and sang at a community crusade. I was pretty young when this song was introduced also, but I feel like my mother bought the cassette tape which reinforced the song. The one that spoke most powerfully to me was called “You Were There All Along.” Those words came to me even as I walked away from God, because He was there all along. When I came back to God, I would often sing this song as a special at church, but I added my own words to it because I had more to the testimony of the song.
As I have grown in my walk with God, I go through spells where certain songs speak louder than others. At times, I can listen to a song with little interest, even singing every word. Then one day, something will click and the words of the song tap into something that needs ministering too.
Music has a powerful way of ministering to the soul. It doesn’t have to be Christian music. Although that is what I listen to now, there are times when I pull from my past and listen to some music from REO Speedwagon, The Cure, Poison, Def Leppard, Kiss, Metallica, Garth Brooks, or John Michael Montgomery, just to name a few. It just depends on the mood and emotions that I am trying to tap into.
This blog is part of a #Write31Days series on Focus with prompts by #FMFParty. Write 31 Days is an online writing challenge, where bloggers pick one topic and write a post on that topic every day. Five Minute Fridays provides prompts and encourages writers to free write for five minutes on the prompt.
Restoring Voice 