the music makes me wanna dance...nah, not yet.

I feel like it's been awhile since i've graced the pages of this blog with my random thoughts and appropriate song lyrics.  Things have been going well.  I am at a job I love, living in the home I love and spending time with the man that I...really enjoy being with.  He makes me smile, laugh and most importantly, he makes me want to be a better daughter of my Heavenly Father.  (I was trying not to write about him again...i can't help it.)   But aside from my happiness, I am here to share another song.

Throughout my young life, one constant has been my love of music.  Music can alter moods, set the tone and move people in a matter of (on average) a mere 3 and a half minutes.  There is nothing else i can think of that is so powerful and subtle at the same time.  One song, in particular, that holds tremendous meaning in my life was just playing in the background here at work and while I'm sitting here (doing nothing and waiting for someone to call so that i can actually have a job to do), this song touched me all over again and I found myself beginning to tear up like i do every time.

I hope you never lose your sense of wonder
You get your fill to eat but always keep that hunger
May you never take one single breath for granted
God forbid love ever leave you empty-handed

I hope you still feel small when you stand beside the ocean
Whenever one door closes I hope one more opens
Promise me that you'll give faith a fighting chance
And when you get the choice to sit it out or dance

I hope you dance
I hope you dance

I hope you never fear those mountains in the distance
Never settle for the path of least resistance
Living might mean taking chances but they're worth taking
Lovin' might be a mistake but it's worth making

Don't let some hell-bent heart leave you bitter
When you come close to selling out reconsider
Give the heavens above more than just a passing glance
And when you get the choice to sit it out or dance

I hope you dance
(Time is a wheel in constant motion always)
I hope you dance
(Rolling us along)
I hope you dance
(Tell me who wants to look back on their years and wonder)
I hope you dance
(Where those years have gone)

I hope you still feel small when you stand beside the ocean
Whenever one door closes I hope one more opens
Promise me that you'll give faith a fighting chance
And when you get the choice to sit it out or dance

Dance
I hope you dance
(Dance)
I hope you dance
(Time is a wheel in constant motion always)
I hope you dance
(Rolling us along)
I hope you dance
(Tell me who wants to look back on their years and wonder)
I hope you dance
(Where those years have gone)

Tell me who wants to look back on their years and wonder
(Dance)
Where those years have gone
(Dance)

I found this song at a time in my life that was less than pleasant.  I was being homeschooled, my home was not a happy one and I was feeling alone.  So was my mom.  I remember helping her through this really tough time in her life and trying (at 13 years old) to be my mom's best friend, comforter and shrink all at the same time.  She was struggling emotionally and out of all the people in her life, I was the only one left who was trying to take care of her.  Me, of all people...the 13 year-old, homeschooled, socially inept third child who wasn't used to taking care of anyone. This was one of those times in my life where the ONLY thing that helped me through, was music.  Any and all types of music took me to places where there was no pain, no frustration, no suffering mom.  At the same time, I heard the lyrics of these songs and it was the one above that I felt inspired to share with my mom in an email.  At a time in her life when she was ready to give up the fight and give in to the pain and hurt she was feeling, this song brought her much comfort.  I was able to use another woman's words to start my mom on her journey to healing.  I used to hear that song, think of my mom, and hope and hurt for her.  Now I hear that song, and it reminds me to continue to hope, believe and pray for the best because as I see how happy my mom is and it was only after she had weathered the storms...and they were natural-disaster-type storms in her life.  This song has become a testament to me of the power of hope.  So today (and hopefully the ones to come), I will continue to tear up as I listen to this song, but thankfully, it is because it reminds me to hope.  And maybe, just maybe, I'll get up the courage soon enough so that when i get the choice to sit it out or dance, I will actually dance.  No more holding up the walls.  :)  After all, I've got a dance partner that I wouldn't trade for anyone right now.  :)