Thankful Thursday. It's official-

I'm sappy.

There. I said it.

It became quite clear to me just a couple days ago that I have quite high levels of sappiness.

See, there's this song.

It's a Christmas song that I grew up hearing, but didn't truly begin to appreciate until my later teen years.

Once I moved out "on my own," I would look forward to coming home for Christmas and putting that CD into the player and skipping to number three to hear the best version of "Angels We Have Heard on High" e v e r.

Imagine my shock when just a few years ago I could not find the CD in the cupboard and no one seemed to know what I was talking about.

WHY hadn't I taken the time to figure out what CD I was listening to all those years?? My song was gone and I had no idea how to find it because I had no clue who performed it. You'd think in this day and age it'd be super easy to find what I was looking for. Well then, you try to find the right version of such a classic hymn. Needle in the proverbial haystack, indeed.

Recently, I was lamenting to my younger brother (who was on his mission back when I discovered the CD missing so he didn't know my plight) that I missed listening to that song, but I didn't know who played it so I couldn't find it.

He looked at me and said simply, "Is that the one with the french horns at the end?"

*heart.stopped* "Yes...you remember it, too?!"

"Yeah. And I think I have it. Want it?"

"YES!"

On Tuesday, he emailed it to me and I tried not to get my hopes up as I clicked on the link to listen to it. Immediately, I recognized it as my long lost song.

I'd been having a bummer of a day, but in that moment this intense feeling of gratitude flooded over me as I got lost in this beautiful song.

I thought about how lucky I was to live in a time when I could experience such amazing music at the touch of a button. I thought about how much I love good music. I thought about how lucky I was to have a brother who pays attention to the details, loves music, and has built a massive collection of amazing songs including ones we both (unbeknownst to me, aka- the oblivious one) loved in our youth (this is not the first time he's helped me find a song). I thought about how ridiculous I was to be crying because the music was so gorgeous...

The intense feeling peaked, along with the music, and I felt like Heavenly Father was saying, "For you, Lindsey." I forget it easily, but that little moment reminded me that Heavenly Father loves me, that he knows me, that he's mindful of me, and that I am doing the right thing with my life.

And so today, I am thankful for music, for brothers, for technology, and for tender mercies.

What are you thankful for today?

P.S. In case you were wondering, it's "Angels We Have Heard on High" from the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra's Joy to the World album.