Always Love You

It's no secret that I believe God speaks to me. I've experienced messages conveyed through many means. Dreams, conference talks, personal meetings with my Bishop, insight from me therapist, both gospel and secular scholarly talks and books, and even movies like Gladiator. But one of the most common and powerful ways God speaks to me is through music. Sometimes it's a melody or harmony that touches me. Often it's a word or phrase in the lyrics. Once in a while, I know that an entire song is speaking directly to me.

So, five years ago my wife introduced me to Ryanhood. They are a fun musical duo from Tuscon. We've been following them ever since. They released a new album today. We got an advanced copy a couple of weeks ago and since then I've been dying to share this song.

Ashley and I were lying in bed listening to the new album which we had just downloaded. We'd heard most of the songs at concerts, though it was nice to hear them polished for recording. There were a couple of fun new songs that were very much Ryanhood's style. Then we got to this song. I think both of us were expecting a cute, possibly sappy, little love song. It didn't take long before we both just stopped and looked at each other and started tearing up. At least I did. I was stunned.

Always Love You can be taken as a song about a man who is deeply in love regardless of whether or not he's loved in return. But I heard my Savior's voice. I heard my Heavenly Father talking about His love for me. I don't know if this song will be meaningful for anyone else, but that possibility is part of the reason I am posting it. The other reason is that I just need to testify of God's love for me. I know He cares deeply about me. He has a plan for me and wants me to be happy. I'm grateful for that knowledge.

You can listen or download at http://ryanhood.bandcamp.com/track/always-love-you?permalink