The soundtrack of my life is on repeat!

Music is a powerful thing. It has the ability to comfort, inspire, and energize. It also has a strong connection to our memories, giving it the ability to bring us back to a particular time and place. For example, if I hear the Titanic movie soundtrack, I am instantly transported to Theatre One at Studio 28, where I went to see it three times. I can smell the buttery popcorn and feel my dripping tears as I listen to the haunting melodies.

Makes me wonder…if I was going to take a musical journey through my memories, what songs would I include? It would be difficult to narrow it down, but here’s a few that would make it onto my “life soundtrack”:

Camp Food by Patch the Pirate: When I was in elementary school, our church did a bunch of kids musicals, including Psalty the Singing Songbook, Pilgrims Progress, and Patch the Pirate. I was even “Sissy Pirate” in one show. Hearing the Camp Food song from Camp Kookawacka Woods (“Fish eye florentine…three day quarantine”) reminds me of wearing a white cotton sailor shirt with too-tight sleeves, sitting in a real sailboat on the stage, and singing this song and many others (at the top of our lungs) with my sisters while we did the dishes.

Walking on Broken Glass by Annie Lennox: I looked up when this song was released (1992), which was perplexing, because I distinctly remember listening to this song on my pink pastel stereo when we lived in Connecticut…before ’92. Even though my memory is a bit jumbled, it still reminds me of fiddling with the radio dial to get the perfect signal, jiggling the speaker wires to hear sound from both speakers, and feeling the hard side of the bed jabbing into my back as I scribbled endless letters to my best friend back in New York.

The Great Adventure by Steven Curtis Chapman: This song, particularly the phrase, “Saddle up your horses…” reminds me of the summer I worked in the kitchen at Circle C Ranch. It was “the” song of that long ago summer. Even now, hearing it takes me straight back to the taste of marshmallow topped brownies, the smell of toast plopping out of the revolving toast maker, and the thrill of running up and down the aisles delivering pitchers of water and bowls of mac and cheese to tables of hungry campers.

Bed of Roses by Bon Jovi: This “power ballad” from the early 90’s conjures up gobs of teen angst from high school. Over the lovestruck lyrics, I picture myself walking out of math class, distraught over a guy, turning crinkly pen filled journal pages, and whispering hundreds of prayers for my future husband. Little did I know he was tooling around in his blue Buick…

Hand in My Pocket by Alanis Morissette: Her album Jagged Little Pill came out just in time for my freshman year of college. “I’ve got one hand in my pocket…” drifts through my mind as I hear the sound of my roommate Amos giggling and the whoosh of her nebulizer, the sight of my roommate Lisa sitting at her laptop playing Minesweeper and eating a candy bar, and the feeling of panic as I pore over the pages of a giant World Civ textbook.

Snatches of song poke their way out of my memories as I think about the next several years. Shine Jesus Shine from Cornerstone chapel, our wedding music, techno beats from Dance Dance Revolution, Christmas music played year round…they all swirl around until another song surfaces.

Camp Food by Patch the Pirate: Yep, the soundtrack of my life is on repeat! Madi received a collection of Patch the Pirate CDs and music books for Christmas, so we have spent the last couple of weeks hearing about the campers at Camp Kookawacka Woods and learning about obedience. The kids love listening to the stories, and I find myself singing the songs as I do the dishes…sound familiar? I particularly enjoy singing (loudly) “…quickly, and sweetly, obey completely…just do it, right now…”. (obviously written by a parent)

While I would be the only person to truly appreciate my personal soundtrack, it would be an interesting way to get to know someone better. Pick a smattering of songs, add your stories, share with a friend, and watch your understanding of each other grow…pretty cool, if you ask me.

Now if you’ll excuse me, I have some more musical memories to create…

— Rachel