“I still remember where I was when I heard this for the first time.”

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Growing up, it was rare for a song to come on the radio that one of my parents didn’t have a story for. Whether it was how old they were when they first heard it, what they were wearing, or what was going on in the world at the time, my sister and I always got the backstory.

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My parents were kids of the 60s, teenagers of the 70s, and adults of the 80s. We heard stories about what it was like for them and their friends during segregation and the music that was birthed out of the Civil Rights Movement. We would listen to music that my parents would have heard on the radio during the time they were saying goodbye to older siblings being shipped off to Vietnam. There were even times music would bring out emotions from my parents that I didn’t quite know how to handle as a kid.

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One night, while I was going upstairs to our Computer Room (y’all remember those?), I heard what could only be described as weeping. I inched open the door and saw my mom with her head in her hands while “I’ll Be Seeing You” by Billie Holiday was playing from our family computer. When I went in to check on her, she told me, “This song makes me think of my dad, and I just really miss him sometimes.”

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I didn’t realize until I got older that all of these backstories to songs were teaching my sister and me how to be kind, how to relate to others, and even how to grieve.

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It’s funny how much music is the ultimate time machine. When I listen to Britney Spears now, I’m transported back to elementary school and dreaming about being the world’s next big pop star, or when I hear an Avril Lavigne song on an Instagram Reel, I’m reminded of middle school and the thousands of black eyeliner pencils I went through. Even when I hear a song from the early years of Hillsong United, I’m transported back to when I had my first real encounter with Jesus.

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After becoming a believer, I discovered a whole new genre of music that no one in my family knew anything about - worship music – and I loved it. I loved hearing from artists about why they wrote a song, what Scriptures they used, and how God worked in and through them during that time.

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You know, the backstory.

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On top of learning about this new genre of music, I also fell in love with reading my Bible. So much so, that I took that thing with me everywhere. I started to notice that the more I read, the more I could recite, and the more I could recite, the more I could encourage others. Even during times of anger, grief, or uncertainty, the Holy Spirit was (and is) kind enough to remind me of what God’s Word says.

Unfortunately, there are still some songs from childhood that I can’t listen to because they make me sad. Whether it’s because of what life was like during that time, or I just miss my parents, it’s hard to be transported back to that time.

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But just like the way a song can take us back to a moment in time, God’s Word can be a reminder of how far He has brought us.

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You know, our backstory.

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While the songs I grew up with were soundtracks to movies, the same songs were the soundtrack to my parents’ lives. They were the words and sounds that played in their minds when they would think back on the backstory of their lives, and so much of who I am today is because of their backstory.

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My backstory comes with a soundtrack as well, and the soundtrack sounds a lot like worship.

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Whether it’s our kids, our neighbors, or our cashier, God has entrusted us with people to share our backstory with. How cool is it that what we share has the potential to be a part of someone else’s story?

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Who do you think needs to hear your backstory this week?