I Think I Finally Found My Hallelujah!

Curiously, the chorus of a secular song entitled ‘Good To Be Alive’ by Andy Grammer is resounding and repeating in my head. This song came out about five years ago or so. I don’t listen to the millennial generation music as a rule. After all, I grew up with Motown and oldies! You can’t get much better than this! Remember the Temptations, Aretha Franklin, The Rolling Stones, Beatles, Beach Boys, Led Zeppelin, and I could go on and on? Once we turn on the radio, we can easily travel back to different times with fantastic and fun memories of an era that was a little simpler, a little slower, and a bit less complicated. There are smells, feelings, and emotions that are conjured up just listening to that music. We are transported to, what I remember, as happier times.

This last year has been challenging and confusing for all of us. We’ve felt the pressure of trying to hold things together with more detours, hardships, and stressors that we could ever forecast.

I’ve had many conscious moments of being in my ‘sweet spot’ in life, where my hallelujah exists. There have been many, many personal moments that I can reflect on that stand out as definitely being in a moment in which I feel I can’t get any better than this! The day my son was born after a difficult pregnancy that kept me hospitalized for almost three months. Healthy baby David – Hallelujah! John and I were sitting in our TV room the other day with the TV off, and we were in conversation. There was peace, contentment and I felt ‘it can’t get any better than right now.’ Hallelujah! My most recent employment at Baystate Health Systems in Western Massachusetts was a professional, sweet spot for me. I had many conscious moments where I would pause and think to myself while sitting in my office, ‘I love this moment in which I find myself, with people surrounding me that I love.’ Hallelujah!

As we were driving yesterday from a medical appointment that John had, I looked up into the sky. There was a cloud formation consisting of three parts of a cloud, with the sunbeams streaming out from the center. My response prayer in that split second was ‘thank you, God, for putting me right in the center of your will for my life’. Peace, contentment, Hallelujah!

We talked with Shelby, our oldest granddaughter, last night by phone from Maine. She called to tell us that something ‘very big’ happened in her 18 year-old life. Shelby was certified as an EMT over a year ago, before she graduated from High School; and is now enrolled in College studying EMT. Applications had been placed in two area fire departments for full-time Paramedic/Firefighter. The professional interview took place the day before when she had to sit before 6-7 high officials in the department and they quizzed her about scenario-based happenings, and how she would handle them. She came out of the interview feeling as though she really hadn’t nailed it. Her confidence was down, she is hard on herself. Much to her surprise, she received a call yesterday morning with an offer, and words that made her spirit soar! She definitely is living in her sweet spot, and in a hallelujah moment. There is a lot of hard work ahead for her with going to college full time and working full time, but she is up to the task. We’re so proud of her!

We’re all living in a parallel world right now. We have our every day, mundane, what’s for supper tonight-kind of world. There is also this parallel world that is happening simultaneously where we can occasionally step in just far enough to get a glimpse of joy, excitement, praise, our ‘sweet spot’; that’s where our hallelujah lives.

I was browsing around on my phone a day or so ago, and found a picture of our grand-daughter, Ava, when she was 3 1/2. She had come with her family to spend time with us to celebrate Easter. Very appropriately, she was dancing in our kitchen to ‘It’s Good to Be Alive’ by Andy Grammer. She had crossed over into that world where hallelujah lives, on Easter.

Andy Grammer has been a musician for years and started as a busker. A busker is someone who performs on the streets for money. He was a guy that had his guitar case open on the sidewalk as he played and sang. People would throw a couple of dollars in his case. After years of this, he finally had a hit song. His sweet spot, his very own hallelujah!

I’ve been grinding so long, been trying this s**t for years
(uh-huh) and I got nothing to show, just climbing this rope right here
(uh-huh) and if there’s a man upstairs, he kept bringing me rain
(uh-huh) but I’ve been sending up prayers and something’s changed

I think I finally found my hallelujah
I’ve been waiting for this moment all my life
Now all my dreams are coming true, yeah
I’ve been waiting for this moment

Feels good to be alive right about now (woo-hoo)
Good, good, good, good to be alive right about now (woo-hoo)
Good, good, good, good to be alive right about now (woo-hoo)
Hallelujah, let that bass line move ya, say hey
Pretty good to be alive right about now (woo-hoo)

I was dead in the water, nobody wanted me
(Uh-huh) I was old news, I went cold as cold could be
(Uh-huh) but I kept throwing on coal tryna make that fire burn
(Uh-huh) sometimes you gotta get scars to get what you deserve
(Uh-huh) I kept moving on and now I’m moving up
(Uh-huh) damn, I’m feeling blessed with all this love

I think I finally found my hallelujah
I’ve been waiting for this moment all my life
Now all my dreams are coming true, yeah
I’ve been waiting for this moment

Feels good to be alive right about now (woo-hoo)
Good, good, good, good to be alive right about now (woo-hoo)
Good, good, good, good to be alive right about now (woo-hoo)
Hallelujah, let that bass line move ya, say hey
Pretty good to be alive right about now (woo-hoo

)I almost can-, cannot handle it
I could get u-, could get used to this
I almost can-, cannot handle it
I could get u-, could get used to this

I think I finally found my
(Hallelujah, hallelujah, hallelujah, hallelujah
Hallelujah, hallelujah, hallelujah)Feels good to be alive right about now (woo-hoo)
Good, good, good, good to be alive right about now (woo-hoo)
Good, good, good, good to be alive right about now (woo-hoo)
Hallelujah, let that bass line move ya, say hey
Pretty good to be alive right about now (woo-hoo)

Good, good, good, good to be alive right about now (woo-hoo)
Good, good, good, good to be alive right about now (woo-hoo)
Good, good, good, good to be alive right about now (woo-hoo)
Good, good, good, good to be alive right about now (all right!)

There is no Easter unless we look at Good Friday when Christ is brutally beaten and hung on the cross to die for our sins. ALL of our sins. Then we come to Easter Sunday, where He had overcome death and allowed all of us to live in Eternity with Him. He opens the gate between this world and the Eternal world, where we will be singing Hallelujah.

There are many moments in this lifetime, in all of our lifetimes, where we can get a glimpse into that other world of Hallelujah and experience our own ‘sweet spots’. Let’s focus on those moments, every day, and look for them expecting to experience our Hallelujah times.

Be Blessed to be a Blessing,

Candy