Sunday Inspirations April 18, 2010

Psalms 28:7
"The Lord is my strength and my shield; my heart trusted in him, and I am helped: therefore my heart greatlly rejoiceth; and with my song will I praise him."

Ephesians 5:19
"Speaking to yourselves in songs and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody in your heart to the Lord."

Colossians 3:16
"Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom; teaching and admonishing one another in songs and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with grace in your hearts to the Lord."

Doctrine and Covenants 25:12
"For my soul delighteth in the song of the heart; yea the song of the righteous is a prayer unto me, and it shall be answered with a blessing upon their heads."

It's been a rough week. Well, perhaps not so much for me, but when those I love (and there are a WHOLE lot of you out there I love) are suffering, I cannot help but empathize. I find myself taking on their troubles as if they were my own. I've been like this my whole life, so telling me not to do it is a rather fruitless request.

Thursday, Friday and Saturday found me especially affected. I wasn't grouchy or mean or anything, just...down. My normally upbeat attitude had gone into hibernation. For me one of the worst things about watching others suffer is my inability to do anything about it! Being helpless to those who need help is NOT a good feeling.

My son had made a request for our Primary Singing Time today. He wanted to sing, "If You're Happy and You Know It." I began to think about the last three months in Primary, how hard the kids have been working on learning new songs, and I decided it was time to sing for the sheer sake of having fun with music! No games to help us learn the songs better, but a chance to make ourselves laugh and have a good time while singing music that still uplifts the soul.

Know what? It really did! I made up a poster board with the name of the song on front, then a bunch of cards to flip over with different actions to put to our song. Each child who came up had to tell us something that makes them happy, then they could choose a card. The actions ranged from whispering, "awesome," to flapping our arms, to winking at our neighbor and blowing kisses. It was so funny and action packed and FUN!!! By the time we were done I felt rejuvenated, and the kids were happy.

I have no doubt in my mind music is a method of healing given to us from our Heavenly Father. When we delve into music that is good for our hearts and souls, it uplifts, encourages, and gives hope. I feel happier today than I have all week long. Every time I think back to those precious 15 minutes a smile covers my face and happiness reenters my heart!

So today I want to thank my Heavenly Father and Brother for giving me a calling where I am able to enjoy music, to share my love of music with children, and to have these sweet souls learn to love it as well.