I have often said that before I found God I found Dolly Parton. I’ve mostly said it tongue-in-cheek, but when I examine my teen years, she really saved me. While all my peers and I were in teenage angst, they were doing drugs, doing each other and getting into anything and everything. I, on the other hand, was doing Dolly… wait, that didn’t come out right. I was getting into anything and everything Dolly… oh, I’m not so sure that sounds good, either.
Let me start over. I was 13 when I got my first Dolly Parton album titled “Here You Come Again.” That album changed the course of my life. Her music lifted me up, she inspired me and the music gave me a focus. That year I started the first of twenty-five years of vocal training.
As most of you know, my stepfather is Peter Marshall, host of the original “Hollywood Squares.” When I was 13 he arranged for me to meet Dolly. I was fortunate enough to develop a fairly good connection with her. My relationship with Dolly gave me the strength to believe in myself. If I could forge a friendship with a person as special, kind and BUSY as Dolly, there was probably nothing I couldn’t do. I learned that if I had a dream, and was willing to take a chance on making that dream come true, it would.
When I found God, the course of my life changed again. What I mean by that is, that I found in me, the Divine spark that lives in each of us. After many losses, false starts, and failures, I learned that inspiration has to come from within. The focus for me has to be on Spirit. If I can forge a relationship with Spirit, there is nothing I can’t do.
I think that’s what I saw in Dolly. She is so deeply connected to that Divine spark in herself that there is nothing she can’t do. Except maybe wear a size 32 A bra. No amount of inspiration could make that happen. I digress.
To this day, the sound of Dolly’s voice, her incredible spirit, just makes me smile from the inside out. I love this song. It says it all.
If you have a dream, let yourself be inspired by Spirit. Connect with the Divine in you and be willing to take a chance on making that dream come true, and it will.
