Listen to your life.

See it for the fathomless mystery that it is. In the boredom and pain of it no less than in the excitement and gladness: touch, taste, smell your way to the holy and hidden heart of it because in the last analysis all moments are key moments, and life itself is grace. - Frederick Buechner

There are certain songs when I listened to it, reminds me of someone, some place, some time. For example, La Cienega Just Smiled reminds me of an intersection of my life, when I had to choose and by God's grace I chose the right way. Ryan Adams wrote the song with an exact inspiration when he was standing on La Cienga boulevard in LA and another street that its name I couldn't recall, when he remembers the past and thinking about the present of his life at that moment. I've never knew how these kinds of thoughts were transfered through notes, music, and atmosphere created by the music that filled the entire room. I remember the first time I heard the song was from Felicity (it's a big confession: I used to be a nerd for Felicity Porter, I would watch the entire four seasons in one weekend). I also remember when and where I listened to that song for the first time. And another moment I listened to that song at the Blind Lemon, sang by a local musician I couldn't recall the name and somehow I felt that it reminded me to rethink of what I had been doing with my life. It was one moment after another, that song feels more "religious" to me than any other.

Of course there's more songs!

Such as Landslide from FleetwoodMac (I also like the Dixie Chick's version), but I remember the mere moment I listened to that song and every time I heard it; it would always brought me back to the same exact moment. The morning of November 11, 2002, when I realized that I had built my life around something that was not worth built around to. Of course, how I could I ignore God, the only One worth building our lives around. "Seek His Kingdom first and everything else will be added to you." said it all. But God never gave up on me, and here I am five years later, with my life granted to me!

Or that song I'll fly away by AlisonKraus, will remind me of a Saturday summer day in Findlay Market, when Angie and I hang out often, and Amos played his guitar and three of us would sing. The song has a peaceful note that reminds me of what I want in the future for my funeral ceremony. You're right to think that I am weird to think of this, but, a place with God is a place I wanted to be at, forever, and if that time comes, I would want all the world to rejoice with my soul. On that note, to think of where all of us are and what has happened in our life is mindblogging. You can't never know the future, but with God, there's always peace in the future.

Another song was from the Hymn, It is well with my soul, reminds me of being in church with my mom and dad, when I was here by myself and think that my parents are in God's sovereign hands, is a complete peace.

Or how the Beatles is always reminds me of my childhood cause they'd be in my dad's player list, how I made up words in English without knowing the meaning of it, as long as I can sing along, I was happy. No body complaints, so that was good!

And then there was Nessun Dorma, from the opera Turandot, which reminds me of three fire related incident in my life that also my way to interpret God's message. The first fire was in my apartment, and the second and third one was when I went to the opera; at the Music Hall, we had to get out twice because of false alarm and someone fell on the steps on the third floor. I think the poor man had a heart attack. I didn't know if that was a very sad opera involving a very stubborn cold-hearted princess, or because I was thinking about my own situation, every time I heard the song, it took me back to that very moment when I was in the process of coming back to God. Ah, God is good, it seems that He would used everything to just talk to me.

The sounds of my life is a serenade of God's work in me. It is completely appropriate, even when there's pain to endure, and there's heart yet to heal, and a child who consistently resist to grow up in me, to thank God for his work in my life.